April 30, 2026

Data Cutoff: 12:45 PM ET

Kateryna Shymkiv, Jennie Olmsted, Anna Thacker, Samuel Shafiro, Diana Nasreddine, Nikolai Sundstrom, Jakub Kostka, Grace Mappes, and Karolina Hird 

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev emphasized Russia’s commitment to its war aims in Ukraine and claimed that Russia is in an existential conflict with the West immediately after Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 29. Medvedev gave a speech at the Znanie Pervye (Education First) federal educational marathon on April 30 in which he labeled the United States as Russia’s main geopolitical rival and stated that Russia is in a conflict with the West that is “a question of existence” and will not end “within a generation.” Medvedev claimed that Russia’s victory in the war in Ukraine will bring stability to Russia and allow Russia to address its economic, demographic, and social issues. Medvedev also rejected the ability of the United States to mediate peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Medvedev has frequently made outlandish statements that represent a more extreme view than the Kremlin itself is willing to publicly portray, and his articulation of these statements a day after a Putin-Trump phone call is likely intended to make Putin’s false claims about the battlefield situation and the supposed inevitability of a Russian victory appear rational in comparison to Western policymakers. Medvedev’s statements are likely also intended to reinforce to Russians the Kremlin’s justifications for continuing its war in Ukraine, namely that the United States is an adversary and that Russia is engaged in an existential war against the West, and to reassure the Russian population that Russia is and will continue to achieve all of its war aims. Other, more relatively moderate Kremlin officials also continue to reiterate Russia’s commitment to its war aims. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has continually stressed the need to address the so-called “root causes” of the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin’s shorthand to reiterate its maximalist demands for any peace agreement in Ukraine, as a precondition to a long-term peace agreement several times in April 2026, including on April 30.

The United States released a previously-authorized $400 million in funds for Ukraine. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on April 29 that the Department of Defense released the $400 million in funds that Congress previously allocated to Ukraine in 2025 through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), in which the United States purchases weapons for Ukraine from US defense firms.

• Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev emphasized Russia’s commitment to its war aims in Ukraine and claimed that Russia is in an existential conflict with the West immediately after Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 29.

• The United States released a previously-authorized $400 million in funds for Ukraine.

• Ukraine has received its first mobile F-16 fighter jet flight simulators.

• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Slovyansk and Kostyantynivka directions.



• Russian forces launched 206 drones toward Ukraine overnight.

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