International Glance
A little over a year after President Donald Trump scolded him during a nationally televised Oval Office meeting, insisting he held “no cards,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is proving he holds a few after all.
Setbacks for Trump ally and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and the world’s newfound appreciation for Ukraine’s drone-focused defense industry have given Zelenskyy a remarkable reversal of fortune and a much stronger position than Trump could have predicted 14 months ago.
In Moscow on Saturday, Putin, who expected to take control of Ukraine within days of his 2022 invasion, will instead oversee a Victory Day parade that is drastically scaled down out of fear of Ukrainian long-range drones and missiles. Russian airports were closed in the preceding days and cell service periodically shut off as security measures. Putin himself has cut back on public appearances over fears of assassination attempts or even a coup.
On the same day, 1,000 miles to the southwest, Putin’s biggest defender in Europe, Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán, will officially hand over power to a new prime minister, Peter Magyar, whose election last month has already opened the door to more European Union and NATO help for Ukraine.
A Year After Trump’s Scolding, Zelenskyy Turns Out To Have A Lot Of Cards
Ireland Joins First Five Nations to Ratify Ukraine Claims Commission
On Wednesday, Ireland’s lower house of parliament, the Dáil Éireann, ratified the Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine.
Irish Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne welcomed the move, saying Ireland was among the first states to move from signing the convention to full ratification.
“Russia must be held accountable for the serious damage it has caused Ukraine,” Byrne said.
The commission is part of a broader international mechanism designed to secure reparations for damage, losses and injuries caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The mechanism consists of three parts: the Register of Damage for Ukraine, which has been operational since April 2024 and records claims; the Claims Commission, which will review and adjudicate those claims; and a future compensation fund intended to provide payments to claimants.
Russian Strikes Kill 22 in Ukraine Hours Before Kyiv-Proposed Ceasefire
Russian attacks killed 22 people in cities across Ukraine on Tuesday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Moscow’s “utter cynicism” for launching deadly strikes while seeking a truce to stage its May 9 patriotic parade.
In Zaporizhzhia, a southern city close to the front line, 12 people were killed in what Zelensky described in the post as a guided aerial bomb attack with “absolutely no military justification.” Seven people remained hospitalized, while 37 people were affected overall.
“It was a guided aerial bomb attack that directly targeted the city’s civilian infrastructure. The Russians show no restraint in destroying human life,” he said.
Russian forces also struck Dnipro in the evening, killing four people, Zelensky confirmed.
State moves forward with foreign service officer layoffs in blow to civil service
The State Department on Tuesday officially terminated the employment of approximately 200 foreign service members as part of a reduction in force (RIF), part of more than 1,300 layoffs at the agency over the past year.
State framed the layoffs as part of what the Trump administration describes as an “historic” reorganization at the agency.
But terminated foreign and civil service officers and their supporters – Democratic lawmakers in particular – allege that these firings are illegal because they targeted employees in their temporary positions.
Foreign Service Officers (FSO) are classified as commissioned officers, ranked in their experience and trained as a flexible, nonpartisan, world-wide workforce to address the needs of the department as they evolve, and when an administration changes.
Russia Declares Victory Day Truce, Signals Pause in Fighting
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced a unilateral truce for Victory Day, declaring a pause in fighting from May 8 to May 9, while warning it would carry out a “massive missile strike” on Kyiv if Ukraine attempts to disrupt celebrations in Moscow.
According to the BBC’s Russian service, the truce was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with the anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, marked annually on May 9, Ukrinform reported on Monday.
At the same time, Russian officials warned of retaliation if Moscow’s military parade is threatened.
The Defense Ministry said that if Ukraine tries to “implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration of the 81st anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War,” Russian forces would respond with a missile strike on central Kyiv.
Ukraine hits key Russian oil-loading port and 3 ‘shadow fleet’ tankers
Ukraine on Sunday launched a wave of strikes against Russian oil targets, hitting a key loading port on the Baltic Sea and two tankers that Ukraine alleges were illegally used to transport Russian crude.
A nighttime drone strike sparked a blaze at Russia’s largest oil exporting port on the Baltic Sea, the port of Primorsk, according to Russian regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko.
The port, operated by Russia’s state oil firm Transneft, is capable of handling hundreds of thousands of barrels per day. Primorsk, which was targeted multiple times in March, lies over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Ukraine, between the Russian-Finnish border and Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg.
Local Gov. Drozdenko said that the drone strike did not cause an oil spill, but gave no immediate further comment regarding casualties or damage.
Debunking 5 Myths A Pro-Israel Lobby Group Is Spreading About the US-Israel Relationship
Almost everyone, at this point, has heard of AIPAC, it seems. The Israel-first lobby has made itself notorious through its hardline stance – and has become an increasingly toxic name in American politics, particularly on the Democratic side of the aisle. But that’s where AIPAC’s lesser-known counterpart, Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), hopes to fill the gap being created as Democrats forswear AIPAC funding.
Founded in 2019 in the wake of Donald Trump’s election and dismantling of the US-Iran deal negotiated by the Obama administration – both of which many Democrats saw as having been supported by AIPAC – DMFI sends a softer message: It supports a two-state solution for Israel-Palestine. And it is sometimes critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But make no mistake – it is here to shore up the flagging (one might say, evaporating) support for Israel among Democrats, through lobbying and, via its sister organization DMFI PAC, with political spending that totals over $25 million since its founding.
As DMFI PAC’s webpage explains, the organization “works to elect pro-Israel Democrats up and down the ballot and defeat those few anti-Israel Democratic candidates” – a description it rounds off by explaining that “being pro-Israel isn’t only good policy, it’s also good politics.” That’s a catchphrase that will surely be familiar to long-time AIPAC watchers. And if there was any remaining doubt, it’s worth noting that not only are some of DMFI PAC’s biggest contributors are also top contributors to AIPAC, but also that DMFI and AIPAC often back the same candidates.
AIPAC lists on its website a series of supposed benefits the US receives as a result of its relationship with Israel – a series of myths that we responded to with the actual facts here.
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