The Group of Seven (G7) countries are discussing using frozen Russian assets as collateral to provide loans to Ukraine, Reuters reported on April 18, citing European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis.
In lieu of NATO membership, Kyiv is seeking to sign similar agreements with as many of its Western allies as possible as it fights Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Speaking in Washington, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said she was "confident" this would be achieved but added that fully addressing the country’s economic problems would require ending Russia's full-scale invasion.
"We're going to do what's necessary to make sure the national security bill gets over the finish line," House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said. "It's not Johnson's foreign aid package. It's America's foreign aid package in terms of meeting our national security needs."
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Germany's Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck during the latter's visit to Kyiv on April 18.
There are six additional Patriot systems in NATO countries that could be delivered to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on April 18 following a Special European Council summit in Brussels.
Key developments on April 18: * Ukraine destroys missile launchers, radar stations at Russian military airfield in Crimea, says Military intelligence * Reuters: Ukraine says Russia's use of illegal tear gas on battlefield is increasing * Zelensky: Ukraine to produce 10 Bohdana howitzers this month * German delegation promises new IRIS-T delivery shortly * Russian
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry responded on April 18 to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's comment that a foreign agents law was needed to defend Georgia against "Ukrainization," condemning the Prime Minister's words as "disturbing."
Slovak citizens have raised over $1.6 million in three days for the Czech ammunition initiative after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico refused to contribute to the campaign to aid Ukraine.
A joint operation by Ukrainian and Polish law enforcement agencies led to the detention of a Polish citizen who allegedly offered to Russian intelligence to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on April 18.
Denmark has become the first country to buy weapons and equipment for Ukraine's Armed Forces from a domestic manufacturer as part of a military aid package, Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin announced on April 18.
Ukrainians see tense relations with Poland, namely the ongoing blockade by Polish farmers, as a foreign policy factor with the most negative influence on Ukraine, according to a survey by Razumkov Center published on April 18.
Robert Habeck, who is also Germany's economy and environment minister, was accompanied by Helmut Rauch, the head of Germany's Diehl Defense company that manufactures IRIS-T air defense systems.
Kyiv Independent Editor-in-Chief Olga Rudenko has been shortlisted for the Gongadze Award, a Ukrainian prize for independent journalism.
The increasing number of Bohdanas being produced by Ukraine is part of a wider effort to ramp up domestic weapons production amid rising uncertainty surrounding military aid from the U.S.
Scheduled blackouts were introduced in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk oblasts after recent Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, the Energy Ministry reported on April 18.
"We have Patriots, we have anti-missile systems. We have to take them (out) from our barracks where they are just in case and send them to Ukraine where the war is raging," Josep Borrell told reporters after a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers meeting on the island of Capri.
According to Kpler, Russia exported around 740,000 barrels of crude per day in the 10 days leading up to April 13, a 25% decrease from the same period the previous four years.
Ukraine destroyed several units of military equipment in an attack on a Russian military airfield in Dzhankoi in occupied Crimea on April 17, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held talks on the long-awaited U.S. aid bill for Ukraine, strengthening sanctions against Russia, and the ongoing debate on confiscating frozen Russian assets.
A 63-year-old woman's body was found under the rubble in Selydove, located around 30 kilometers west of Russian-occupied Avdiivka, and a 56-year-old man was killed in the village of Ocheretyne.
Two men, aged 30 and 35, were hospitalized in moderate condition, said Governor Serhii Lysak.
At least 1,839 children have been killed or injured since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office reported on April 18.
The drones were intercepted by Ukrainian anti-aircraft units and mobile fire groups in Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts, according to the Air Force.
In total, 78 people, including four children, were confirmed injured as of the morning of April 18. The search and rescue operation was completed at around 9:15 a.m. local time.
This number includes 910 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Ukrainian military officials have previously said that Russia is deploying chemical weapons on the battlefield in violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. The usage of riot control gas in war is also banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Russia is a signatory of.
President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed European Council summit participants on April 17, calling for urgent assistance with air defense systems in order to counter daily Russian attacks.
Ukrainian writer and public figure Dmytro Kapranov died on April 16, according to the Kapranov brothers’ official Facebook page. He was 56 years old.
Russian forces attacked Sumy Oblast 39 times in 11 separate attacks throughout the day, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on April 17.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's investigation project Schemes revealed on April 17 that over 2,000 foreign-made electronic components are allegedly contained in Russian Sukhoi (Su-type) fighter jets, primarily originating from Japan and the United States.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte offered on April 17 to buy Patriot air defense systems from more hesitant allies in order to send them to Ukraine, The Guardian reported.
