War & World ◦ May 7, 2026
The diplomatic front shifted, the cracks inside the Kremlin widened, and a humanitarian crisis deepened. Here's what you need to know.
Poland to Fico: Unblock Ukraine Aid — and We'll Forgive the Moscow Trip
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski sent a sharp message to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico: if he helps unblock the €90 billion EU aid package for Ukraine, Warsaw may overlook his planned attendance at Russia's Victory Day celebrations.
Fico — who vowed "not a single bullet" for Ukraine when he took office — has shown signs of softening, telling Zelenskyy that Slovakia "will not stand in the way" of Ukraine's EU membership. The diplomatic pressure is working. The world is watching.
North Korea–Russia Bridge Nearly Complete. A New Military Supply Route Is Taking Shape
Satellite images analyzed by BBC Verify show the Khasan–Tumangang Bridge — the first road crossing between North Korea and Russia — is almost finished.
Built to handle 300 vehicles and nearly 3,000 people daily, this $120M infrastructure project signals that the Russia–North Korea military partnership is built to last well beyond the war in Ukraine. North Korea has already sent an estimated 15,000 troops to fight alongside Russian forces.
This bridge will make resupply faster, easier, and harder to stop.
Cracks Inside the Kremlin: Former Putin Ally Calls Him a "War Criminal"
Ilya Remeslo — once a key Kremlin propagandist who helped persecute opposition figures including Alexei Navalny — has publicly called for Putin to resign and face justice.
After 30 days in a psychiatric hospital, he was released and vows to keep speaking out. His message: roughly half of the Kremlin administration privately agrees with him. Putin's approval rating has hit its lowest point since the full-scale invasion.
The FSB and presidential administration are in open conflict. "Putin will be toppled at some moment by his own circle," Remeslo said. The walls are closing in.
2,000 Civilians Trapped in Occupied Oleshky. Russia Is Blocking Their Escape.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has condemned what it calls a "severe humanitarian crisis" in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast.
In the front-line city of Oleshky, roughly 2,000 civilians remain trapped — no safe evacuation, no drinking water, no food supply, no electricity. Russia is mining roads, targeting evacuating vehicles with drones, and blocking aid deliveries.
The city's population has collapsed from 24,000 to 2,000.
Ukraine has filed over 220 evacuation requests and has urgently engaged the UN and ICRC. Blocking civilian evacuation and using starvation as a weapon of war are violations of the Geneva Conventions. This is not collateral damage. This is deliberate.
14 Senate Democrats to Trump: Reinstate Russian Oil Sanctions — Now
Led by Sen. Michael Bennet, 14 Democratic senators sent a direct letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding an immediate end to the sanctions pause on Russian oil.
The numbers tell the story: Russia's oil revenue doubled in April. Gas prices are up over 85 cents per gallon.
The pause that was supposed to help Americans at the pump has instead handed Putin a financial windfall. "Continuing to pause these sanctions is a mistake that President Trump must reverse immediately," the senators wrote.
Sanctions evasion through shadow fleets continues — unchecked for 14 months. The window to act is closing.
Ukraine is holding the line — on the battlefield, in occupied cities, and in the halls of Congress. Stay informed. Stay engaged. The work continues.
Take Action:
Contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to support S. 2904 — the SHADOW Fleet Sanctions Act. Russia's shadow fleet is still running. It's time to shut it down.
Photo Credits:
1. NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
2. Reuters via KCNA
3. Pavel Bednyakov / AP
4. Nizar al-Rifai / The Kyiv Independent
5. The Hill