Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service: Russia’s Economic Crisis Deepens and Social Pressure Mounts
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump did not extend the temporary sanctions waiver on Russian oil that had been in effect amid the conflict in the Persian Gulf.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas believes that Russia is currently not in a sufficiently strong position in the war against Ukraine and therefore must be pushed toward the negotiating table, with China potentially playing a role in doing so.
Finance ministers of the G7 countries will discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine, the war in Iran, and the situation around the Strait of Hormuz during a meeting in Paris.
Acting Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže emphasized that the pace of Russian advances in Ukraine is so insignificant that even calling them “snail-paced” would be unfair to snails. “Saying that the Russian army is advancing at a snail’s pace insults snails. If a snail had started crawling westward from Avdiivka in February 2022, it would have reached the Czech Republic by now, while Russia remains bogged down in Donbas,” Braže noted.
“Russia is in a ‘fragile position,’ therefore pressure through sanctions must continue rather than intensifying negotiations,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated.
Putin has few favorable options left in Ukraine because his armed forces are incapable of achieving significant battlefield progress, while Western sanctions are gradually draining his resources. This was stated by Estonian Foreign Intelligence chief Kaupo Rosin.
Slovakia, one of the last major clients of Gazprom in the European Union, is ready to sign a long-term natural gas purchase agreement with Azerbaijan.
Japanese game developer and publisher Konami will terminate services for players in Russia and Belarus starting June 15.
The share of Russians who are “generally dissatisfied” with domestic policy in Russia reached 36% by the end of April, the highest level since December 2021.
