Acting Ambassador to Ukraine Julie Davis, May 5, 2025
EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Kyiv Advances Without Trump’s Support
Tuesday’s Coverage: Russia Ships Stolen Ukrainian Grain to Israel
UPDATE 0715 GMT:
Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina has called for honesty in economic data, after Western intelligence agencies called out exaggeration and deception in figures such as the inflation rate.
The Central Bank officially reports inflation at 6%, but Western services say the true rate is closer to 15%.
Swedish military intelligence chief Thomas Nilsson added that Russia is understating its budget deficit by $30 billion, with financial indicators pointing to a future banking crisis.
Germany’s intelligence service BND echoed that Russia’s budget deficit in 2025 is 40% bigger than officially stated, at more than 2.36 trillion roubles ($30.5 billion).
Nabiullina told a banking conference, “It is very important that people are not afraid to speak the truth, to present an accurate picture, whether good or bad, but an accurate picture, because the quality and reliability of data are very important for decision-making.”
The Governor also admitted that Russian savings are “the only source of financing, practically the only one” for the economy, as sanctions closed Western capital markets to domestic companies.
UPDATE 0706 GMT:
For the first time in 19 years, Russia will not display military hardware in the Victory Day parade on May 9, commemorating Soviet triumph over Germany in World War II.
The event in Moscow’s Red Square normally is a moment to portray military strength through armor, missiles, and other weaponry.
Several military schools and cadet corps, “as well as the military hardware column, will not be participating in this year’s military parade due to the current operational situation,” posted the Russian Defense Ministry.
Instead, the parade will include representatives of all branches of the Armed Forces and videos showing servicemen “carrying out tasks in the special military operation zone,” a reference to the invasion of Ukraine. There will also be overflights by warplanes.
UPDATE 0602 GMT:
Ukraine’s air defenses downed 154 of 171 drones fired by Russia overnight. Twelve UAVs hit 10 locations.
In the Sumy region in northern Ukraine, one civilian was killed and two injured in the Shostka community, as Russia set widespread fires with drones and a missile.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Frustrated with Donald Trump, Acting US Ambassador to Ukraine Julie Davis is resigning after less than a year in the post.
Officials said Davis was concerned about the Trump Administration’s lack of support for Kyiv, amid limits on aid, criticism of European partners, and stalled Ukraine-Russia-US talks.
State Department Tommy Pigott pushed back the reports, “It is false to suggest Ambassador Davis is resigning ‘over differences with Donald Trump. She will continue to proudly advance President Trump’s policies until she officially departs Kyiv in June 2026 and retires from the Department.”
Davis, a charge d’affaires but not a Senate-confirmed ambassador to Ukraine, is a career diplomat over three decades. She has also been serving as the US Ambassador to Cyprus since 2023.
She was named Acting Ambassador in May 2025 after career diplomat Bridget Brink left the Ambassador’s post.
Brink decided to depart after Vice President J.D. Vance and Trump verbally ambushed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House in February 2025. She said she had grown alarmed by Trump’s “appeasement” of Russia and how he “put pressure on the victim, Ukraine”.
In 2019, after cutting off aid to Ukraine because the Zelensky Government would not push disinformation about future President Joe Biden, Trump recalled Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. He smeared her as “disloyal” and “bad news”.
Yovanovitch later testified in Congressional hearings over Trump’s impeachment later that year.
