As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) summit approaches, member states have been privately discussing what Ukraine’s status within the alliance should be. While all members are in favor of elevating Kyiv’s status, the members have not been able to agree on a united path for Ukraine to join the bloc.
During Moscow’s annual Victory Day celebration in the Red Square on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia fully supports its military and said that the country is facing a “real war.”
In the early hours of May 3, two purportedly Ukrainian drones struck the dome of the Kremlin’s Senate building which overlooks the Red Square. According to the Kremlin’s Spassky Tower which can be seen in the foreground of emerging social media videos of the attacks, the first drone struck at 2:27 a.m. with the second hitting at 2:43 a.m. While one drone appears to be destroyed in a cloud of smoke, the second one can be seen bursting into flames above the dome. Russian officials immediately alleged that Ukraine was behind the attacks and claimed that the incident was a failed assassination attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Wednesday, Seymour Hersch, an investigative journalist, published a report on Substack alleging that the CIA is aware of large-scale corruption in Kyiv and the embezzlement of U.S. aid.
The Ukrainian battle for Bakhmut has not been going well for Kyiv, with reportedly high losses and dwindling munitions and other resources in the east, and despite numerous reports of a much anticipated Spring counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces, the talk has shifted from a planned counteroffensive to a need for compromise.
In response to the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin that was issued last Friday by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the security council, Dmitry Medvedev, has issued a stark warning that any attempt to arrest Putin would be seen as an actor of war by the Kremlin.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in what Beijing has described as a “trip for peace.” The White House, however, has said, “We don’t support calls for a ceasefire right now.”
After the International Criminal Court based in The Hague issued an arrest warrant last week for Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged human rights abuses in Ukraine, Germany announced over the weekend that it will arrest Putin should he ever travel to its territory.
On Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Moscow for a rare trip where he will meet with Syrian ally Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. A statement from the Kremlin outlining the agenda stated that the meeting will include “further development of Russsian-Syrian cooperation in the political, trade, economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as the prospects for a comprehensive settlement of the situation in and around Syria.”
According to 2 unnamed U.S. officials, it is believed that Russia conducted a test launch of an extremely provocative intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) while President Biden was visiting Kyiv Monday.