European Council President António Costa has criticized the trip by Serbia's president to Russia’s Victory Day parade last week.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the stakes ahead of a potential meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday by saying he wouldn’t hold talks with any Russian representative other than the president himself.

Also in today’s newsletter, Modi claims Indian military ‘superiority’ over Pakistan, and China’s CATL to raise at least $4bn

Russia's friends in Eastern Europe say EU plans to end all Russian gas and energy imports are tantamount to "economic suicide" and a threat to energy security.

The European Commission wants to halt EU imports of Russian natural gas by the end of 2027. It wants to deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of revenue fueling his war on Ukraine.

But if it does not and there was even a “modest” return of Russian pipeline gas to Europe, alongside imports from Russia’s gas facility Arctic LNG 2, which has been subject to US sanctions, S&P warns that $120bn of investment in the US industry would be at risk.

The EU is preparing new sanctions on Russia despite a potential meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, three sources told CNBC.

The European Commission (EC) is developing alternative mechanisms if Hungary vetoes the use of frozen assets. The Russian Federation will block the extension of existing anti-Russian sanctions in the summer.