🔥 More from Dovzhansk, Luhansk region

The administration of US President Donald Trump is likely to extend this week the exemptions from sanctions on Russian oil, Semafor reports, citing former State Department and Treasury officials.

In March, the US Treasury Department allowed the sale of Russian and Iranian oil already loaded on tankers at sea until April 11 and 19, respectively. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued that this would stabilize the energy market, which had been affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and reduce prices, while limiting profits for the aggressors.

“Almost a month later, experts point out that there is insufficient evidence that these steps have had a significant impact on reducing prices, except for temporarily reassuring investors.

The expansion of the pool of buyers of Russian and Iranian oil has allowed countries to set higher prices, thanks to which Russia sometimes earned an additional $150 million per day. Meanwhile, most of the Iranian oil was already on its way to China,” the report says.

About a dozen former sanctions officials told reporters that the Trump administration intends to extend the exemptions first for Russian oil and then for Iranian oil.

“I find it hard to imagine a world in which the Trump administration would crack down again on Russian oil, at least between now and the midterm elections,” said Edward Fishman, author of Chokepoints, who worked on sanctions in the State Department and Treasury Department under President Barack Obama.

Experts interviewed for the report note that during Trump’s second term, sanctions have shifted from being a punitive tool to one used to temporarily calm markets. Even if Iran follows through on its promise to temporarily open the Strait of Hormuz, the administration could still benefit from extending the exemptions.

“I don’t really like it. If it’s a temporary stopgap, I understand why the administration has to do it — but in the long run, it’s not good,” Republican Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina told Semafor.

Experts expect Trump to remain skeptical of sanctions, and the Republican-controlled Congress is unlikely to offer much resistance. In his foreign policy, the US president is expected to rely more on tariffs and limited military operations than on sanctions.

Some experts welcome the flexibility the US is showing in wartime. Others suggest the administration may lack a long-term strategy beyond providing short-term relief to markets.

The Treasury Department told reporters that “the Trump administration will continue to use America’s economic tools and military might to maximize the world’s energy supply, strengthen global supplies, and hold the Iranian regime accountable.”

Интересно, что 31 марта пресс-секретарь президента Дмитрий Песков заявлял, что Киев отчаянно нуждается в любом перемирии из-за ситуации на фронте.

"Киевский режим отчаянно нуждается в перемирии, любом перемирии, потому что динамика на фронтах, которая, кстати, мониторится не только нашими специалистами, но и зарубежными, свидетельствует о том, что российские войска где-то быстрее, где-то медленнее, но по всей линии фронта продвигаются вперед", - заявил Песков.

Аналогичную мысль высказывал посол по особым поручениям МИД России Родион Мирошник, заявивший, что Украине сейчас нужна любая передышка, но она им не обломится.

"Уставшим карателям сейчас любая передышка важна, но не обломится", - написал Мирошник.

Видимо, отчаянно нуждающемуся в перемирии Киеву все же взяло да обломилось. Естественно, целых полтора дня перемирия погоды не сделают и это сугубо политическая акция на внешнего наблюдателя. Но это также очередной показатель, что не надо бежать впереди паровоза с грозными реляциями, чтобы потом не выглядеть глупо.

Военный Осведомитель

🇺🇦🎞️ Ukrainian photojournalist Yevhen Maloletka's photo wins the European category of the World Press Photo 2026 contest.

The photo shows a 65-year-old Kyiv woman near a destroyed house after the Russian attack on Kyiv in April 2025. At least 12 people were killed and about 90 more were injured.

#Iran / #USA / #Israel 🇮🇷🇺🇸🇮🇱: A new photo posted by Iranian Border Guards with various notable weapons:

DIO MASAF-2 rifle, AM-50 “Sayyad” anti-materiel sniper rifle and PKM-T80 machine gun can be seen.

https://x.com/i/status/2042323499407012339

آتش بس در اوکراین

پوتین آتش‌بس عید پاک را از ساعت ۴ بعدازظهر ۱۱ آوریل تا پایان ۱۲ آوریل اعلام کرده است.

در این مدت، خصومت‌ها در تمام جبهه‌ها متوقف خواهد شد.

روسیه انتظار دارد اوکراین نیز به همین صورت عمل کند.

Ukrainian drone strikes hit a power substation in occupied Melitopol, causing electricity outages in parts of the city.

👀 Saransk, Mordovia. After the missile threat was announced, local residents reported smoke.

🇻🇪🇮🇷 The Chavista regime planned in 2020 to purchase Iranian ballistic missiles for more than $400 million, according to internal documents.

A memorandum from the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense dated January 17, 2020, approved by then-Minister Vladimir Padrino López, reveals that the Maduro government allocated funds to acquire an Iranian ballistic missile system valued at more than $400 million. The document detailed how Venezuela planned to channel the money through state-owned companies and that the system would be operated from platforms on naval ships. The operation never materialized: the Trump administration communicated that it was "unacceptable" and Venezuela desisted under US pressure, although Maduro publicly declared seven months later that buying missiles from Iran "had not occurred to us," adding that it was "a good idea." Elliott Abrams, former special representative of Trump for Iran and Venezuela, confirmed that Washington was aware of the conversations but said he was unaware of the specific document.

Iran had previously supplied Venezuela with drone systems, and both countries maintain decades of cooperation through OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), ties that deepened under Hugo Chávez and continued with Maduro through dozens of cooperation agreements.

❗️Ukraine's lessons learned in combat are saving lives in the Persian Gulf, - Rutte

"Allies on NATO's eastern flank and our friends in the Persian Gulf are defending themselves against drones thanks to Ukrainian technologies that did not exist even a year ago."

🇬🇧 I am fed up with the fact that families across the country are seeing their energy bills go up and down because of Putin or Trump’s actions on the world stage, and the same is happening with business bills, — Starmer.

Regarding Trump’s comments when he gave Iran an ultimatum to open the strait or “an entire civilization will perish,” the British prime minister stopped short of directly condemning the US president’s words, but said they were “not the kind of language I would use”.