So, no sanctions after all?
The US Treasury Department eventually renewed its Russian oil sanctions waiver despite having repeatedly promised not to do so, drawing rebukes from multiple sides. President Volodymyr Zelensky basically said every buck goes into bombing Ukraine, while the Ukrainian Ambassador to Washington voiced the same concerns, and senators said US President Donald Trump should “stop letting Putin play him for a fool.”
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And imposing the sanctions is only the first step, as London has also come under fire for not seizing a single “shadow fleet” tanker despite having vowed to do so, with reports suggesting the decision became a bureaucratic football (or soccer ball, depending on your preference) tossed between departments since no one wants to foot the bill.
But oil or not, Russia’s economy appears to be doing poorly – or at least worse than it seems, according to Sweden’s assessment.
New concerns from Belarus and Bulgaria
Meanwhile, in neighboring Belarus, self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko hinted at an upcoming trip to the US as the two sides are set to repair ties – but at the same time warned of retaliation against theoretical Western invasions, once again fueling concern over whether Ukraine’s northern neighbor may soon follow in Russia’s footsteps.
Kremlin Responds: ‘If Zelensky Wants to Meet, He Can Come to Moscow”
In Bulgaria, a snap election this weekend also saw the pro-Russian former president top the ballot, renewing concerns of pro-Kremlin influence within the EU after Hungary’s Viktor Orban was ousted not long ago – and as Finnish President Alexander Stubb puts it, the threats from Russia are going nowhere as he also questioned whether NATO can afford to keep Ukraine out of the alliance.
Though Ukraine’s NATO membership remains out of the question for now, the EU is still eying proposals to bring Ukraine in – now, France and Germany are proposing a “symbolic” membership for Kyiv without voting rights. But how much resistance that would face remains unclear, as Hungary’s new pro-EU leader has previously ruled out having a country at war joining the bloc.
Rare mass shooting in Kyiv
Ukrainians were also shocked this weekend by a rare mass shooting in Kyiv, where a Russian-born man gunned down shopgoers in a supermarket. Seven have died as of Monday, with more injured. The case has been reclassified as a terrorist act, with the police under probe after some were seen fleeing instead of doing their job.
The gunman’s motive has yet to be established, but with another blast reported in western Ukraine’s Rivne just two days later, there are concerns that the Kremlin has stepped up its terrorist attacks inside Ukraine, as intelligence agencies have warned before – but again, the two incidents remain under investigation.
There were also incidents involving two high-profile officials – a member of the city council in southern Ukraine’s Odesa was found dead in a car in a possible suicide, while an advisor to the defense ministry, who specializes in electronic warfare, was hospitalized after his house was struck by a Russian drone.
Politically, funding for the government remains a concern before the arrival of the EU’s €90 billion loan, and alternatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have encountered hurdles as businesses have opposed VAT for private entrepreneurs, a key benchmark to unlock the funding. Kyiv and the IMF are now hunting for alternative revenue sources.
But there is some positive news amid the doom and gloom: Ukraine is said to have signed 10-year defense deals with three Gulf states, while Ukrainian drones are said to have achieved a historic first by shooting down Shaheds using naval drones.
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