Kirill Dimitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, with Vladimir Putin

Wednesday’s Coverage: 50 US Senators Propose Sanctions Over Russia’s Demands

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1544 GMT:

Denmark is sending another 6.7 billion Danish kroner ($970 million) in military aid to Ukraine.

The 25th package during Russia’s invasion will provide support from 2025 until 2027. It includes air defense equipment, artillery, and financial assistance to the Ukrainian Air Force.

“The security situation is evolving rapidly. Therefore, Denmark must continue its massive support to Ukraine,” said Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.

UPDATE 0820 GMT:

The Trump Administration’s Defense Secretary, TV presenter Peter Hegseth, will not participate in the Ramstein-format meeting of Ukraine’s partners on April 11, according to “official sources”.

The absence will be the first by a US Defense Secretary during the Russian invasion.

Hegseth’s predecessor, Lloyd Austin, launched the Ukraine Defense Contact Group soon after the start of the full-scale invasion to coordinate assistance among around 50 of Kyiv’s allies.

UPDATE 0616 GMT:

At least five civilians were killed and at least 40 injured by Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 28 of 39 drones launched by Russia, and seven were lost to electronic counter-measures.

But a missile strike killed at least four civilians and wounded 14 in Kryvyi Rih in south-central Ukraine. Nine high-rise buildings, gas stations, administrative buildings, a post office, garages, and cars were damaged.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted:

Everywhere in the world, such strikes are called by the same name — terror. The only way to stop this is by applying sufficient pressure on Moscow, on the Russian system, forcing them to abandon war and terror. And this depends on our partners — on the United States, on Europe, on other countries of the world.

Earlier in the day, a 45-year-old man was killed when a Russian strike hit cars parked outside a house in Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine.

In the Donetsk region in the east, one person was killed and six injured in Pokrovsk near the frontline.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and a long-time contact of Donald Trump’s camp, met Trump’s envoy and real estate developer Steve Witkoff in Washington on Wednesday.

The visit was the first by a high-level Russian official to the US during Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Trump Administration temporarily eased sanctions on Moscow so Dmitriev could obtain a visa.

Dmitriev posted on Telegram:

The dialogue between Russia and the United States — crucial for the entire world — has been completely destroyed under the Biden Administration.

Restoring dialogue is a difficult and gradual process. But every meeting, every frank conversation allows us to move forward.

No details were given of the discussion. However, it may be linked to Russia’s attempt to regain the initiative with Trump after unsettling him by rejecting a ceasefire and reissuing ultimata over its invasion.

Trump said on Sunday that he was “very angry” and “pissed off” at Putin’s demand that the UN install a temporary administration in Kyiv, effectively toppling the Zelensky Government. Russia has also continued missile and drone strikes, including on energy infrastructure, and turning down a Ukraine-US agreement to halt attacks in the Black Sea.

Kremlin officials responded by suggesting that Russia could supply rare earth minerals to the US. Dmitriev said:

Rare earth metals are an important area of cooperation and, of course, we have started discussions on various rare earth metals and projects in Russia.

He asserted some companies have already expressed interest in the projects.

Dmitriev was involved in the direct US-Russia talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in February. He declared after the discussions:

American business has lost more than $300 billion by leaving the Russian market. Accordingly, finding joint economic paths and positive solutions to issues is extremely important, mainly for the United States and for many other countries that are beginning to understand that the Russian market is extremely attractive and that it is necessary to be present in it.

He said Russia and the US need to create joint projects, for example in the Arctic, and he proclaimed: “US oil majors have done very well in Russia. We believe that, at some point, they will return – why would they pass up the opportunities Russia has provided for access to its natural resources?”

Dmitriev’s history with the Trump team includes a meeting with Erik Prince, the founder of the Blackwater mercenary group, in January 2017 in Mauritius. The two men sought a back channel between the incoming Trump Administration and Moscow.