Putin Says West Seeking to Weaken and Destroy Russia; US-Iran Tensions Escalate Over Strait of Hormuz

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of seeking to weaken and destroy Russia, stating that Western officials have been overtly stating that they managed to break up the Soviet Union in 1991 and that now it's time for Russia to be divided into regions that would conduct hostilities against one another.

The Russian leader will brief Chinese President Xi Jinping on his contacts with US President Donald Trump, the Kremlin announced. The two leaders will also discuss the most important issues related to the Middle East, the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa, and the APEC summit in South Korea.

Hungary has decided not to provide Ukraine with 1.5 million euros and will instead send the funds to Lebanon, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. He emphasized that Hungary's national security interest is peace in the Middle East, and Lebanon's stability is key to that.

Mobilization in Russia is not on the agenda, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, responding to State Duma member Mikhail Sheremet's suggestion that Russia should declare mobilization for achieving the goals of the special military operation in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump said he threatened Thailand and Cambodia with new duties, stating that he was sure that duties are an important tool in foreign policy for his administration.

The Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA) has condemned US threats of the use of force against Cuba, appealing to the US government to engage in dialogue without threats and conditions.

Trump said Iran's new peace proposal is unacceptable, stating that the campaign against Iran is proceeding very well.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will chair a UN Security Council debate on the contours of a new world order on April 24, Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said. "We call on UN members to look beyond the horizon of the current moment and present their vision of how we could build a truly multipolar world through joint efforts, in which the interests of all states would be guaranteed," Nebenzya said.

Iran has divided countries into three categories based on their stance on the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian TV. All states are divided into three categories — "hostile," "neutral," and "friendly."

OPEC+ will take additional measures if needed, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. The eight OPEC+ leading nations — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman — have agreed to pause production increments in the first quarter of 2026 and keep oil production quotas at the December 2025 level.

Navigation in the Strait of Hormuz has stopped after Trump's remarks about conflict settlement. While nine ships passed through the Strait in both directions on Saturday, on Sunday only two Iranian commercial vessels did so.

Putin will deliver an important address at the Victory Day parade on May 9, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "We expect that the president's address at the parade will be an important one, as always," he said.

The US will start an operation to evacuate ships locked up in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Trump announced. The US president called the operation a "humanitarian gesture," pledging that any interference "will be dealt with forcefully."

The US will drop plans to deploy long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany, according to media reports. Christian Moelling, director of the Berlin-based think-tank Edina, told The Financial Times that rotating out American troops stationed in Germany was "less of a problem" than the cancellation of the plan to deploy a long-range strike capability.

Putin and Trump expressed similar assessments of the Kiev regime's behavior in their phone call, the Kremlin said. "Their assessments were similar. Basically, it's hard to imagine different assessments of the Kiev regime's behavior," Peskov said.

Top German and Iranian diplomats discussed the settlement of the conflict around Iran over the phone. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul talked with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

Tehran's proposals do not include a 15-year enrichment pause, according to news agencies. The proposals also do not include the opening of the Strait of Hormuz before the sides reach the final peace deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged civilians to leave Gaza immediately, stating that the Israeli army will operate "with full force" to destroy all facilities of the Hamas radical group in the Gaza Strip.

Putin will hold bilateral meetings on Victory Day, including with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who will be visiting Moscow.

Pierre de Gaulle, grandson of French General Charles de Gaulle, said he would like to move to Russia with his wife, emphasizing that Russia and France are bound by ties in many areas, including culture.

Russia may ban the import of fish products from the Faroe Islands, according to the agricultural watchdog. The growing potential of production capacity indicates there are no prerequisites for a decrease in the production of frozen fish.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) called for the US Air Force chief to resign after US aircraft were downed in Iran. The IRGC Navy also congratulated the air defense forces of the Islamic Republic's army on intercepting a US F-15E fighter jet and an A-10 attack aircraft in the skies over Iran.

Iran will view US interference in Strait of Hormuz navigation as a ceasefire violation, said Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee. He stated that the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf management will not be based on "delusional posts" of the US president.

The US is interested in calling on Arab nations to help pay for the cost of the Iran operation, according to a US official. The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28.

US troop buildup near Iran is not a sign of any new decisions, the White House said. The US and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28.

The Russian State Duma passed a bill on tit-for-tat response to Russian media discrimination. The Prosecutor General will receive the right to withdraw registration and licenses from foreign media for disseminating illegal information, including reports "showing disrespect to Russia's public, government, and Constitution," and discrediting its Armed Forces.

The world's largest nuclear-powered submarine took part in Russia's Northern Fleet drills. Its notional enemies were small missile ships Onega and Naryan-Mar.

Russia would prefer to achieve goals in Ukraine through a peace agreement, the Kremlin said. Trump said in his latest phone call with Putin on April 29 that a deal on resolving the Ukraine conflict was close.

Moscow will move the threat further away if long-range weapons are supplied to Kiev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. On June 1, Washington announced it would provide a new military aid package to Ukraine that would include the delivery of HIMARS weapons and ammunition.

Iran's UN mission blasted the US for more than five decades of breaching the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The US should not be given any cover for its outrageous and hypocritical behavior, Iran's Mission to the UN said.

Iran may begin mothballing its oil wells next week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Oil prices will be lower after the US-Israeli war against Iran is over than they were at the beginning of the year, including due to the United Arab Emirates' decision to withdraw from OPEC, Bessent said.

Ukraine lost about 1,235 troops in the special military operation zone in the past day. In particular, Ukraine lost over 175 troops in the area of responsibility of Russia's Battlegroup North, up to 210 troops in the area of responsibility of Battlegroup West, up to 160 troops in the area of responsibility of Battlegroup South, and up to 320 troops in the area of responsibility of Battlegroup Center.

An expert sees a link between the US move to pull troops from Germany and Russia's list of targets. According to Russia's top brass, the European branches of Ukrainian drone-production companies are located across eight European countries.

The EU is preparing for a possible energy supply crisis due to the conflict in Iran, according to a Spanish newspaper. The European Commission assures there is currently no risk to supplies, though markets are feeling the impact of rising Brent crude oil prices, which has led to higher gas and oil prices in Europe.

Deportation of draft-age men from Europe is unlikely to help Ukraine, Russian official Vladimir Saldo said. "It won't save the day for the Ukrainian armed forces," the Kherson Region Governor said.