Friday’s Coverage: Zelensky Hails Minerals Deal…But Trump Demotes Top Advisor Waltz
Map: Institute for the Study of War
US officials have completed new economic sanctions against Russia, including banking and energy measures, to press Moscow to end its invasion of Ukraine.
However, it is unclear if Donald Trump will approve the measures, according to “three US officials and a source familiar with the issue”.
The targets of the sanctions include State-owned energy giant Gazprom and major entities involved in the natural resources and banking sectors, said an administration official.
Men from Togo, in west Africa, have been captured fighting alongside Russian invaders in Ukraine.
Togo’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that the “majority of compatriots, in particular young students, had left Togo under alleged scholarships offered by structures claiming to be based in Russia”.
The Martin Luther King Movement, Togo’s leading human rights organisation, alerted authorities in March to a Togolese student captured on the battlefield and imprisoned in Ukraine.
With the Trump Administration lifting its suspension on delivery of military aid to Ukraine, the US Air Force has transferred decommissioned F-16 fighter jets to supply spare parts for aircraft donated by European partners.
The transfer is part of a $310 million support package which also includes training and technical support.
The warplanes, retired from U.S. service, cannot be flown on operational missions.
Stripped-down F-16 airframes were loaded onto an An-124 cargo plane on April 26. They were taken from Tucson International Airport in Arizona to Poland’s Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport, a key logistics hub for Western military assistance to Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Administration officials informed Congress of the intention to allow the export of defense-related products through direct commercial sales of $50 million or more.
Donald Trump had ordered the suspension of deliveries of the aid, authorized during the Biden Administration, as the US pursued direct talks with Russia in February.
The Russians struck 12 locations in four central districts late Friday. A high-rise apartment block and homes were hit and fires were started.
At least eight victims are in hospital.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky responded:
There were no military targets, nor could there have been. Russia is striking residential areas precisely when Ukrainians are at home, when they are putting their children to bed.
Only fiends could give such orders and carry them out. While the world hesitates with decisions, nearly every night in Ukraine turns into a nightmare, costing lives. Ukraine needs strengthened air defense.
Strong and real decisions are needed from our partners — the United States, Europe, all our partners who seek peace. Only strength and sanctions will force Russia to stop.
Right now, Russia is yet again attacking Ukraine. Kharkiv has been hit by dozens of “Shahed” drones. Residential buildings, enterprises, and civilian infrastructure have been damaged. As of now, more than 40 people have been reported injured. Rescuers and relevant services are… pic.twitter.com/cC2PYfPVRl
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 2, 2025
Russia failed to capture Kharkiv, 30 km (19 miles) from the border in northeast Ukraine, in the first days of its 38-month invasion. Since then, it has regularly targeted the city and its civilians with missiles, bombs, drones, and artillery.
A month ago, attacks just before and on Good Friday killed and wounded more than 100 civilians.
Ukraine War, Day 1,150: Russia Missiles Kill 1, Injure 112+ in Kharkiv on Good Friday