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Stay on top of Russia-Ukraine war 04-17-2025 developments on the ground with KyivPost fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated war maps.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has voiced the desire to the US but is now awaiting a response from the Trump administration.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine wants to purchase 10 Patriot air defense systems.
Zelensky’s comments came after a deadly Russian attack on Ukraine’s Sumy on Palm Sunday, with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal signaling in March that Ukraine has been facing a Patriot missile shortage that affects its ability to fend off Russian missiles.
The EU has decided not to extend its pause on duties on Ukrainian exports beyond this summer – dealing a potentially huge blow to Ukraine’s economy. An exclusive by Kyiv Post.
The European Union will not extend the suspension of import duties on Ukrainian exports set to expire in June, a move that could cost Kyiv billions in revenue, two sources familiar with the matter told Kyiv Post.
The EU’s Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM), adopted in the summer after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, removed tariff rate quotas on 36 categories of Ukrainian import goods to provide support to the country during the war. The current EU pause on duties on imports from Ukraine is active until June 5, 2025.
Ukraine’s National Bank said that inflation is decelerating and expectations are improved, though uncertainty is high due to war and tariffs.
Ukraine’s central bank, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) kept the key rate at 15.5%, signaling that inflation will decelerate to one digit at the end of 2025.
The central bank announced the decision at a briefing on Thursday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has information that China has been “engaged in the production of some weapons on the territory of Russia.”
President Volodmyr Zelensky said Kyiv is aware that Chinese parties have been supplying arms to Russia.
Zelensky, speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday, said “representatives of China” have been “engaged in the production of some weapons on the territory of Russia,” adding that he will share more details next week.
Naftogaz started a legal battle against Russia’s Gazprom in 2016 in response to the latter’s illegal expropriation of its assets in occupied Crimea.
A French court has authorized the local enforcement of Naftogaz’s $5 billion Crimea arbitration award against Russia’s Gazprom based on a decision made earlier by The Hague.
In effect, the decision by the Paris Judicial Court allowed Ukraine’s state energy giant Naftogaz to pursue Russia’s state assets in France to recoup its losses after Russia’s Gazprom seized its assets in occupied Crimea after 2014.
Meloni has looked to maintain ties with the mercurial leader despite the chaos caused by his tariffs. She has criticized as “wrong” his 20% duties on EU exports, which he later suspended for 90 days.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will meet Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, hoping a personal charm offensive can help convince the US president to cut the EU a better deal on tariffs.
The far-right Meloni – described by Trump as a “fantastic leader” who shares many of his conservative views – is the first European leader to meet with Trump since his trade war with the bloc began.
ICU forecasts no significant changes in the balance of safety risks over the 12-month horizon, sustaining the uncertainty for consumers and businesses.
Ukraine’s economy has been in a sluggish recovery mode since 3Q24, and chances for a significant near-term acceleration are slim. The need to cut the fiscal deficit and budget expenditures will significantly restrain GDP growth going forward.
We see economic growth close to 3% this year and next, supported by recovery in household consumption and higher agricultural output.
Ukraine’s minister for strategic industries mentioned the new drone missile in passing in a recent comment – and it appears that it is being developed not by the government, but privately.
A private company in Ukraine is reportedly developing a new drone missile called “Bars” – but details remain extremely scarce.
It’s rumored that the missile operates similarly to other drone-missiles – namely a mix between conventional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cruise missiles – and is capable of striking targets 700-800 kilometers (435-500 miles) away with a 50-100-kilogram (110-220-pound) warhead.
Ukraine’s finance ministry offered banks the opportunity to buy new reserve bonds due in October 2028 and introduced a three-year bond. Bond Market Insight for April 17
After a three-month break, the MoF offered an ordinary three-year note yesterday. The new bond was oversubscribed, and the MoF did not accept all bids.
The 14-month military bill received 17 bids, amounting to just UAH317m, one of the smallest amount of demand for this paper. Interest rates in bids were as expected. Therefore, the MoF accepted all of them, receiving UAH328m of proceeds.
The visit comes less than a week after Iranian and US officials held talks in Oman.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later Thursday to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program, days after US and Iranian officials held talks in Oman.
Araghchi is on a visit to Moscow for talks that are also expected to address issues related to Syria, the Caucasus, and the Caspian Sea.
Russian investigators say a billion-plus ruble fraud saw low-quality materials used to build concrete “dragon’s teeth” barriers intended to stop Ukraine’s tank assaults.
Former Kursk Region Governor Alexey Smirnov was arrested over embezzlement of more than a billion rubles (about $11 million) meant for building defenses on the border with Ukraine, according to the official Telegram channel of the Moscow City Courts.
Multiple Russian media, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that Smirnov was detained on April 15 in a luxury penthouse in Krasnogorsk, a city just outside Moscow, and transported to the capital.
The warning came after Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said he was open to supplying them to Kyiv.
Russia said Thursday it would treat Ukrainian strikes on transport infrastructure using German Taurus long-range missiles as “direct participation” in the conflict by Berlin.
The warning came after Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said he was open to supplying them to Kyiv.
The UK is ready to support a German decision to supply Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, as Berlin continues talks that could signal a policy shift under incoming Chancellor Merz.
The United Kingdom is ready to supports Germany in the potential transfer of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, The Telegraph reports, citing its own sources.
While it was prepared to back any German decision to send the missiles, it says the final decision remains with Berlin, where discussions are still ongoing. London’s support could also serve as an important signal to Germany’s incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is set to take office in early May.
Russia launched a massive attack in southern Ukraine with 320 troops, dozens of armored vehicles, and tanks – but lost hard.
Ukrainian forces repelled a massive Russian assault in the south, eliminating 140 troops, destroying 29 pieces of military equipment, and damaging three tanks, the Southern Defense Forces reported.
A video of the engagement was published on Thursday, April 17, via Telegram with the caption: “On April 16, at about 6:00 p.m. in southern Ukraine, the enemy changed tactics and began assault operations in coordinated units.”
Within 24 hours, Meloni is scheduled to meet both Trump and JD Vance – with the vice president making an Easter visit to Rome on Friday.
Giorgia Meloni has arrived in Washington for a crucial bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump – but she’s carrying more than just Italy’s agenda.
Within 24 hours, Meloni is scheduled to meet both Trump and JD Vance – with the vice president making an Easter visit to Rome on Friday.
France are spearheading discussions among a “coalition of the willing” of 30 countries looking to shore up any deal Trump might strike with a “reassurance force.”
Key allies of Kyiv kicked off a day of meetings with top US officials in Paris on Thursday, as Europeans seek to promote their views on how to rekindle stalled talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The talks come as Donald Trump’s push to end three years of fighting has yet to bear fruit, with the US president expressing frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to a complete and unconditional truce.
Kirill Dmitriev did not say which countries he was referring to, but Moscow has redirected much of its criticism over the war in Ukraine towards Europe since Trump took office.
Russia’s top economic negotiator said Thursday that certain countries were trying to “derail” Moscow’s talks with the United States, as the two sides work towards normalising ties.
President Donald Trump has upended US foreign policy since his return to the White House in January, reaching out directly to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in an attempt to broker a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Russians hit the center of a Ukrainian city with hundreds of cluster munitions. Ukraine countered by pounding a Russian army missile base two days in a row.
Ukrainian strike planners on Thursday hit a Russian missile base with long-range drones that destroyed buildings and targeted service personnel for the second day in a row, in retaliation for a bloody Russian Sunday strike that killed dozens of civilians and injured more than a hundred.
The attack targeted the home base of the Russian Army’s 112th Guards Missile Brigade, the unit thought by Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR to have fired a pair of surface-to-surface missiles into the center of the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy, in Russia’s deadliest strike against civilians in months.
Volodymyr Prokopiv is the second deputy to the head of the Kyiv Administration to be charged with criminal behavior in the past six months.
Volodymyr Prokopiv, Deputy Chairman of the Kyiv City State Administration with responsibility for self-governing affairs, who was previously suspended from his duties, has now been formally charged according to Ukraine’s Security Services (SBU).
According to the report, Prokopiv, who served as a deputy to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, is accused of organizing a scheme that enabled military-age men to illegally leave the country.
The hacktivist group said it had leaked 10 terabytes of data related to Kremlin officials and their related businesses, while speculators have questioned the authenticity of the leak.
The hacktivist group Anonymous claimed to have leaked 10 terabytes (TB) of Kremlin linked data in solidarity with Ukraine on Tuesday, April 15.
Anonymous TV on its X channel Tuesday announced the leak by the “Anonymous collective” and said it contained “information on all businesses operating in Russia, all Kremlin assets in the West, pro-Russian officials, and more,” resharing the leaked file titled “Leaked Data of corrupt officials” from Anonymous France, another X channel.
UniCredit doesnʼt want to leave Russia unless it is compensated adequately. But its expected takeover of Banco BPM could force the Italian government’s hand.
The Italian government is likely to demand UniCredit’s departure from Russia as one of the conditions of its planned takeover of Banco BPM, Reuters reported based on its sources.
UniCredit is one of the few major international banks still operating in Russia after the beginning of Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Denmark’s Army Chief told a TV channel that plans to send unarmed troops to Ukraine to train on the battlefield in the use of combat drones from the “experts.”
Russia’s embassy in Denmark has denounced a Danish military plan to send troops to Ukraine for drone training, warning it could jeopardize current efforts toward finding a political and diplomatic resolution to its war in Ukraine.
It also warned that Danish soldiers engaging in military activity in Ukraine would be viewed as another Western provocation that could make its forces “legitimate targets.”
Serbian President Vučić confirmed he will attend Russia’s May 9 parade in Moscow, despite EU warnings that the visit could jeopardize Serbia’s path to EU membership.
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić has confirmed that he plans to attend the military parade in the Russian capital, Moscow, on May 9, despite warnings from European officials who stated that such a visit could jeopardize Serbia’s EU accession prospects.
According to the Associated Press, Vučić acknowledged that a Serbian military unit will take part in the May 9 parade on Red Square in the capital of Russia, which has been waging a full-scale war against Ukraine for the fourth consecutive year. He also stated that Serbia is participating in the “joint” organization of the parade for the first time.
Two investigative news sites report that more than 200 Russians with links to the Kremlin and Moscow’s intelligence agencies have been granted naturalized nationality by Belgrade.
The independent Russian news site IStories, working with its Serbian contemporary, KRIK, have uncovered more than 200 Russian nationals who have been granted Serbian citizenship “in the nation’s interest” since President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to their investigation, the “nationalization” for a total of 204 individuals, was agreed to without the need for the normal residency qualification or the renouncing of their Russian citizenship between early 2022 and April this year.
Lockheed Martin Europe confirmed on Tuesday that it had received the first shipment of the vital Patriot components from Poland’s WZL-1 Military Aviation Plant.
Lockheed Martin Europe confirmed on Tuesday, April 15 via X, the receipt of the first shipment of Patriot PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) launch tubes produced in Poland.
The components were manufactured by Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze Nr. 1 (the WZL-1 Military Aviation Plant) at a specially manufactured state-of-the-art facility in Dęblin, 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of Warsaw.
The parties will discuss a potential full ceasefire, and the involvement of international peacekeepers, according to a statement from Ukraine’s foreign ministry.
Top Ukrainian officials were in Paris on Thursday to meet EU and US delegations, Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff also expected in the French capital.
“I have just landed in Paris. We arrived together with Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov,” Andriy Yermak wrote on social media, adding they planned to meet representatives of France, Germany, Britain and the United States, without specifying who.
Team Trump is “stuck on stupid” when it comes to negotiating with Moscow. It needs to change direction, beginning with the firing of Steve Witkoff, who is clearly out of his league.
It is past time for President Donald Trump to cut ties with Steve Witkoff. The Special Envoy has become part of the problem as Team Trump attempts to negotiate a comprehensive ceasefire with Russia.
Witkoff simply parrots Russian President Vladimir Putin’s talking points and desired end-state goals in Ukraine.
Three senior Trump officials arrive in Paris for talks to “bridge the gap between strategy and execution” of Trump’s peace goals in Ukraine, sources tell Kyiv Post.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential special envoys Steve Witkoff and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg will spend today and tomorrow in Paris to discuss joint efforts to kick start peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the fate of the “coalition of the willing,” a UK- and French-led mission of over 30 nations that would uphold a potential ceasefire deal with Russia, two senior US officials told Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The Danish troops will be unarmed and be stationed far from the frontlines. Training is expected to begin as early as this summer.
Denmark will send soldiers to Ukraine to be trained in drone warfare, the head of the Nordic country’s army said on Wednesday amid rising demand for an area of battlefield expertise that helped fend off the Russian invasion.
Russia’s ambassador to Copenhagen criticized the move, saying Danish soldiers were being sent to learn how to kill Russians.
Despite ongoing international calls for a ceasefire, including from US President Donald Trump, Russian aerial assaults on Ukrainian cities have intensified in recent days.
A Russian drone strike on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro late Wednesday, April 17, killed three people, including a young girl, and wounded 28 others, Ukrainian officials said.
“Late in the evening, the enemy attacked the city of Dnipro with drones,” Ukraine’s State Emergency Service wrote on Telegram. “The Russians killed three people, including one child.”
Kyiv and Washington had planned to sign a deal on extracting Ukraine’s strategic minerals, until a clash between Trump and Zelensky in February temporarily derailed work on the agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday negotiators were making “good progress” with the United States in fraught talks over a minerals deal intended to secure desperately needed US support.
“The basic legal stuff is almost finalised, and then, if everything moves as quickly and constructively, the agreement will bring economic results to both our countries,” Zelensky said in his daily address.
A German research fellow puts the recent high rate of Russian military recruitment down to extremely high signing-on bonuses and the prospect of peace now limiting a volunteer’s chance of dying.
A recent study by Janis Kluge, a research fellow at the German Institute for International Security Studies, identified a jump in Russian recruitment rates in March. His study was based on budget data from 37 Russian regions and the investigations of several independent journalists.
Kluge puts the surge down to a combination of factors.
Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.
Key Takeaways from the ISW:
Witkoff said shortly after his third meeting with Putin that he sees a peace deal “emerging,” while The Economist says Trump aides are “fed up” with Europe’s efforts to strengthen Ukraine.
The office of French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe’s most vocal pro-Ukraine leader will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US envoy Steve Witkoff in Paris on Thursday, as transatlantic tensions build over how to bring an end to Russia’s more than three-year full-scale assault on Ukraine.
The State Department said Rubio was traveling with Witkoff to meet European officials for talks on the goal of stopping Russia’s 11-year-old unprovoked invasion. Witkoff recently met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, ahead of his joint visit with negotiating team member Rubio to Paris this week.
The comments came as Russia and the United States forged closer ties under President Donald Trump’s administration, of which billionaire SpaceX founder Musk is a key figure.
Kremlin autocrat Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk on Wednesday, telling university students he was a pioneer comparable to legendary Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolev.
The comments came as Russia and the United States forged closer ties under President Donald Trump’s administration, of which billionaire SpaceX founder Musk is a key figure.
While Europe scrambles to combat Russian propaganda, Rubio applauds the closure of the Counter Foreign Manipulation and Interference Agency as a step toward protecting conservative “free speech”.
As European countries scramble to beef up their protections against Russian interference in their elections and political discourse, the administration of US President Donald Trump has continued on an opposite course by eliminating a government agency that tracked foreign disinformation.
On Wednesday, the administration shut down the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference hub, previously known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC), hailing the move as a way to combat what they perceive as censorship of conservative voices.
