Key developments on April 10:
- US ambassador to Ukraine to resign, State Department tells Kyiv Independent
- 'Before I got there, I had never held a weapon' — Ukraine shows interrogation of Chinese POWs
- Ukraine won't accept any limits on its army in talks with Russia, official says
- Russia frees woman jailed over charity gift to Ukraine in prisoner swap with US, WSJ reports
- US senators submit bill to crack down on Russia's shadow fleet
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink intends to resign from her post early, State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on April 10.
"Ambassador Brink is stepping down after three years in Ukraine," Bruce said.
Bruce praised Brink's diplomatic work but did not provide any details on the cause of the resignation.
"For those three years, an extraordinary performance there, and we wish her well," she said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had initially declined Brink's resignation in January, which she submitted as part of the routine turnover process between U.S. administrations.
The ambassador's renewed decision to step down now comes during a critical moment in the U.S.-Ukraine relations.
After taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine, suspending over $1 billion in military aid and halting weapons shipments already en route in early March. The move followed a tense Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance criticized President Volodymyr Zelensky for pressing the U.S. on security guarantees.
Zelensky was dismissed from the White House without signing a key minerals deal, and Trump later declared him "not ready for peace."
Since the meeting, some U.S. officials and Republican lawmakers have escalated their criticism of Zelensky, with some even suggesting he should resign.
Trump has also voiced skepticism over continued U.S. support, comparing aid to Ukraine to "taking candy from a baby" and expressing frustration with Europe for — according to Trump — providing less aid than Washington. This claim was false.
While repeatedly calling for an end to the war, Trump has omitted any reference to sanctions on Russia or meaningful security commitments for Ukraine. The Kremlin has welcomed Trump's posture, saying it "largely aligns" with Russian interests.
Trump's recent attempts to broker a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia have stalled, as Moscowrejected a full 30-day truce agreed upon by Kyiv and Washington and reportedly violated a partial ceasefire regarding strikes on energy infrastructure.
'Before I got there, I had never held a weapon' — Ukraine shows interrogation of Chinese POWs
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out the first interrogation of two Chinese nationals captured while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, the SBU said on April 9.
Kyiv announced the capture of the two Chinese fighters fighting on Ukrainian territory on April 8. According to an intelligence document seen by the Kyiv Independent, at least 163 Chinese nationals are serving in Russia's Armed Forces.
One of the captives served in the 2nd Battalion of Russia's 157th Motorized Rifle Brigade and was captured near Tarasivka, while the other fought in the 1st Battalion of the 81st Motorized Rifle Brigade and was captured near Bilohorivka, according to the SBU.
The prisoners of war (POWs) have no combat wounds but are receiving all necessary medical care and are being held in appropriate conditions in accordance with international law, the SBU said. Both of them claim to have been captured during their first combat mission.
The captives include an unemployed man born in 1991 who was recruited by a Russian middleman in China and arrived in Moscow to sign a military contract in February 2025, according to the SBU's statement.
In an interrogation video released by President Volodymyr Zelensky, the captive introduced himself with the help of an interpreter as 34-year-old Wang Guangjun from Zhengzhou, Henan Province.
Wang said he surrendered in a group of three, including a stray Russian soldier. After they had surrendered, Russian forces dropped an explosive with gas on the group, nearly killing the Chinese fighter before a Ukrainian soldier dragged him out of the shelter and saved his life, he claimed.
The other man, born in 1998, arrived in Russia in December 2024, supposedly as a tourist. According to the SBU, he then applied for a military contract after seeing an online ad with a promised payment of 2 million rubles ($23,300).
The second man introduced himself in the interrogation video as Zhang Renbo from Jiangxi Province. He claimed to have never taken part in combat before his first mission and capture.
"It was my first deployment, my first combat mission," Zhang says through an interpreter.
"Prior to that, I had never participated in combat operations, and before I got there, I had never held a weapon."
Tim Zadorozhnyy
Following the capture, Zelensky instructed Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to contact Beijing. Ukraine summoned China's chargé d'affaires to demand an official explanation and express condemnation.
Beijing responded by saying it was "verifying" the claims, reiterating that Chinese citizens are prohibited from participating in foreign armed conflicts.
"Russia doesn't care who dies in this insane war, they only need the war to continue," Zelensky said on X.
"We all need—all partners, all fair-minded participants in international relations—to deprive Russia of the ability to continue the war, including through the use of people like these."
China, which portrays itself as a neutral party in the war, has become the Kremlin's largest supplier of dual-use goods essential for weapons manufacturing.
Unlike North Korean troops, who have fought on Russian soil, the Chinese nationals were captured on Ukrainian territory, marking a potential escalation in foreign involvement.
North Korea sent around 12,000 troops to Russia's Kursk Oblast in 2024 to reinforce Russian lines after a Ukrainian cross-border offensive. Kyiv has said it captured two North Korean soldiers in January, estimating 4,000 casualties among the deployed units.
Kateryna Denisova
Ukraine won't accept any limits on its army in talks with Russia, official says
Ukraine will not agree to any restrictions on its armed forces' size or combat readiness as part of negotiations with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky's Deputy Chief of Staff Pavlo Palisa told Reuters in an interview published on April 10.
"This is a principled position of Ukraine — no one, and certainly not the aggressor country Russia, will dictate to Ukraine what kind of armed forces Ukraine should have," he said.
The well-trained Ukrainian military remains the strongest safeguard against future Russian aggression, the official reiterated.
"I can guess what the Russian Federation is guided by — maybe they want to prepare, to make it easier for themselves in the future, but no. Our task is to learn the lessons (of the past) well," he said.
Kyiv has formally communicated its stance to Washington, according to Palisa.
The remarks come amid a fragile partial ceasefire covering strikes on energy infrastructure and the Black Sea, brokered in U.S.-mediated talks in Saudi Arabia on March 11.
Kyiv had agreed to a full 30-day ceasefire, but Moscow rejected the proposal on March 13 unless it included restrictions on Ukraine's military and an end to foreign military aid.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly remains unwilling to compromise in peace talks, complicating U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a settlement.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 9 that the U.S. would hold further ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine and Russia in separate meetings in the coming weeks.
"I believe that certain time limits will provide opportunities to put pressure on Russia. If you have a ceasefire for an unclear period — it is a frozen conflict," the president said.
Trump, who has taken on a mediation role, said on April 7 he was "not happy" with Russia's intensified bombardments across Ukraine.
NBC News reported on March 30 that Trump was "pissed off" at Putin's personal animosity toward Zelensky, while the Telegraph wrote on March 23 that he was increasingly angry over Russia's refusal to de-escalate the war.
Despite expressing frustration, Trump has so far avoided imposing any major sanctions or taking punitive action against Moscow.
Chris York
Russia frees woman jailed over charity gift to Ukraine in prisoner swap with US, WSJ reports
Russia and the United States held a prisoner exchange in Abu Dhabi on April 10, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, just as the two countries' officials were meeting for diplomatic talks in Istanbul.
Moscow released Ksenia Karelina, a U.S.-Russian dual national accused of treason for allegedly donating $51.80 to the nonprofit organization Razom for Ukraine, the WSJ wrote. Last year, she was sentenced to 12 years in prison for what Russian authorities presented as funding the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In exchange, Washington reportedly freed Artur Petrov, a German-Russian dual citizen who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the U.S. for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.
"American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media.
Rubio attributed her release from Russian detention to U.S. President Donald Trump, adding that Trump "will continue to work for the release of all Americans."
"The exchange shows the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship," a CIA spokesperson said, the WSJ reported.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and a senior Russian intelligence official negotiated the swap, an undisclosed CIA official told the WSJ.
Ratcliffe was present at the Abu Dhabi airport where the exchange took place, according to the newspaper's source.
This is the second prisoner release negotiated between the U.S. and Russia since Trump took office. Moscow released Marc Fogel, a U.S. schoolteacher who was jailed in Russia on drug charges, in February.
While U.S. officials have not said what Russia was gaining in exchange for Fogel's release, U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said the deal was a sign that Trump was making progress in his attempts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
After taking office, Trump brought a major shift in the U.S.'s foreign policy, with Moscow praising his efforts to restore bilateral relations despite Russia's ongoing full-scale war against Ukraine. Since February, the U.S. and Russia have held several rounds of talks, with one of them taking place on April 10 in Istanbul.
Russia has arrested many U.S. nationals since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, with several Americans now serving lengthy sentences or awaiting trial. Under former President Joe Biden, the White House accused Moscow of orchestrating the arrests in hopes of future prisoner swaps for Russians held in the U.S.
Dominic Culverwell
US senators submit bill to crack down on Russia's shadow fleet
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation on April 9 to intensify the enforcement of sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers, seeking to crack down on oil shipments that fund Moscow's war against Ukraine, Reuters reported.
The proposed law would authorize U.S. authorities to confiscate oil cargoes transported by vessels blacklisted by the Treasury Department. Proceeds from the sale of the seized oil would be directed toward reducing the U.S. national debt.
Despite price caps and sanctions imposed by the G7 and EU, Russia has maintained significant oil exports by relying on a shadow fleet — vessels that often operate under obscure ownership structures, use flags of convenience, and evade Western oversight.
The bill calls for the creation of a $150 million Russian Sanctions Enforcement Fund within the Treasury Department to bolster efforts to monitor and disrupt illegal oil trade networks.
"Russia is continuing its malign actions by operating a 'ghost fleet' to evade U.S. sanctions, enrich its own war machine, and even aid Iranian oil smuggling," said Republican Senator Joni Ernst, one of the bill's sponsors.
"In addition to disrupting Moscow's malign efforts to undermine U.S. law, this bill will also arm our nation to utilize the seized assets and pay down our own debt," she added.
The proposed bill would also expand intelligence sharing to help track vessels involved in sanctions evasion and bolster law enforcement capabilities to dismantle Moscow's energy export networks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on April 10 that Kyiv is preparing its own sanctions targeting Russia's shadow fleet.
"There is a corresponding justification from the special services; these are strong packages," Zelensky said. "These are about the shadow tanker fleet that Moscow uses to finance the war."
As of January, more than 200 tankers were under U.S. sanctions for facilitating the transport of Russian oil in violation of international restrictions.
The Biden administration's final sanctions package, introduced in early January, targeted 180 vessels — a fleet responsible for roughly half of Russia's offshore oil exports.
German authorities seized one such vessel, the Panama-flagged Eventin, in late March. The tanker was carrying approximately 100,000 tons of Russian oil, which was confiscated.
Anna Fratsyvir
Note from the author:
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