Kremlin aide Ushakov:

Many provisions of the American plan on Ukraine, which Moscow has reviewed, appear acceptable.

Moscow has seen reports about a “European plan” on Ukraine — it is unconstructive and does not suit Russia.

Kremlin aide Ushakov:

Russia has received a signal from the United States to meet in person and begin discussions on the plan for Ukraine, but there are no concrete agreements yet.

BREAKING: The Trump administration has designated Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization.

Kenya: Former British soldier Robert Purkiss was denied bail in the extradition case over the 2012 killing of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru near a British army base.

NEW: US and Ukrainian officials say they made meaningful progress in Geneva on a peace plan to end the war with Russia.

The proposal has been cut from 28 points to 19, though key disagreements remain.

Source: FT

China's Xi:

The return of Taiwan to China is a key part of the post-war international order.

China’s Xi Jinping spoke by phone with Trump.

Source: Reuters, citing Xinhua

Saudi Arabia plans to open two more alcohol stores — one in an Aramco compound in Dhahran for non-Muslim foreign staff and another for diplomats in Jeddah — expanding on last year’s first “booze bunker” in Riyadh.

The new stores are expected in 2026, though no official timelines or regulatory changes have been announced.

Source: Reuters

Another corruption scandal in defense procurement of Ukraine

Czech company Reactive Drone is under investigation for selling Chinese drones to Ukraine at extreme markups—up to 20 times the purchase price.

According to Czech detectives, the firm bought drones for 36 million CZK but billed the Ukrainian military 692 million CZK.

Investigators say most of the money—638 million CZK—was then transferred to Chinese bank accounts instead of being taxed.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has not responded to inquiries about why it approved such unusually high prices.

NEW: The UK Ministry of Defence says its DragonFire high-power laser has successfully shot down drones traveling over 400 mph during trials in the Hebrides.

After confirming the system’s first beyond-the-horizon drone kills, the MoD signed a £316 million contract with MBDA UK to begin installing DragonFire on Type 45 destroyers in 2027.

DragonFire is intended as a low-cost “hard-kill” alternative to expensive anti-air missiles, though its performance depends on line-of-sight conditions and stable power.

Source: Tom's Hardware

Pentagon:

The "Department of War" has received serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.).

In accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 688, and other applicable regulations, a thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.

A US- and Israeli-backed aid group in Gaza, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), is shutting down.

It claims its mission is “complete” and that its model will be taken over by a US-led post-ceasefire force, but in reality it faced major criticism and a cash crunch.

GHF was accused by the UN and aid groups of militarising aid, using armed private contractors, and enabling Israeli policies that pushed Palestinians south.

Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians around GHF distribution points.

Source: FT

US official to Al Jazeera:

Trump is open to the possibility of direct talks with Maduro.

We will see how things go if direct talks with Maduro take place and decide accordingly.

BREAKING: Trump:

President Xi invited me to visit Beijing in April, which I accepted, and I reciprocated where he will be my guest for a State Visit in the U.S. later in the year.

A federal judge threw out the indictments against James Comey and Letitia James, ruling that the interim US attorney who brought the charges was improperly appointed.

Source: CNN

IRGC:

Retaliation for Tabbatabaei will take place at its designated time, and the response against the Zionist terrorist entity will be crushing.

IRGC:

The right of the Axis of Resistance and Hezbollah to avenge the blood of the fighters is preserved, and a crushing response awaits the aggressor at the appropriate time.

Russia is attacking Ukraine's Odesa.

Trump’s claim that Ukraine has shown “zero gratitude” is false.

Zelensky has thanked the U.S.—and both Biden and Trump—many times.

CNN counted 78 examples since 2022.

NEW: On Tuesday, the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will visit Trinidad and Tobago, the small nation neighboring Venezuela.

Source: AFP

Zelensky:

As of now, after Geneva, there are fewer points — no longer 28 — and much of what is correct has already been taken into account in this framework.

There is still work for all of us to do — it’s very difficult — to produce the final document.