Vladimir Putin today for the first time publicly explained the nature of mobile Internet shutdowns in Russian cities - and thereby finally legalized the practice, which in recent months has been causing increasing irritation among both citizens and some of the Russian elites. There was no signal to ease restrictions in Putin’s speech. Vladislav Šmigelski / Pexels @

The Official Journal of the EU published ( 1 , 2 , 3 ) documents related to the 20th sanctions package against Russia. They were approved today and are largely consistent with what was announced yesterday. A complete ban on all services related to the maritime export of Russian oil and petroleum products has been adopted, but will not be put into effect until agreed with the G7. Servicing Russian ships carrying LNG is prohibited. A similar ban on foreign vessels will be in effect from 2027.

The Ministry of Finance announced the resumption of operations for the purchase and sale of currency within the framework of the fiscal rule from May 2026. The pause had been in effect since the end of March - it was initially assumed that operations would not resume until July. The return to operations means that the Ministry of Finance will again begin to buy yuan for the National Welfare Fund.

The Météo-France service contacted the police after suspicious anomalies in the temperature sensor readings at Charles de Gaulle airport, writes Le Monde. On April 6 and April 15, the sensor readings jumped sharply by several degrees in a few minutes. On April 15 at 21:30 the device recorded 22°C - although during the day it was 18°C ​​and it was already night outside.

Tesla's quarterly financial report generally exceeded investor expectations . The company, contrary to the consensus forecast, maintained positive cash flow ($1.4 billion) and increased revenue in its electric vehicle division by 16%, thanks in part to rising fuel prices due to the war in the Middle East. Total quarterly revenue also increased by 16% to $22.4 billion. Physically, the company sold 358 thousand electric vehicles in the first quarter.

The head of Swedish military intelligence has presented what he clearly considers a sensational revelation. Thomas Nilsson told the Financial Times that the Russian economy is much weaker than it appears, that the Kremlin is systematically falsifying statistics to mislead Ukraine's Western allies, and that the central bank is understating inflation, which it believes is around 15% rather than the official 5.86%.

Metallurgical tycoon Alexey Mordashov, with a fortune of $37 billion, topped the Russian Forbes 2026 list. For the first time in its history, the $30 billion mark was surpassed by a billionaire from Russia. The record jump ensured an almost 80 percent increase in gold prices, thanks to which Nordgold, owned by the Mordashov family, overtook his longtime main asset, Severstal, in value.

Russian retail trade is experiencing a structural change. Buyers are moving online, offline stores are losing momentum. Retail is being driven home by VAT increases, population savings and rising costs.