Russia in April 2026: the most important developments in politics
Russia in April 2026 was dominated by diplomacy over the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin announced a 32-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire, which Ukraine's President Zelensky accepted. Ukraine and Russia exchanged more than 170 prisoners each ahead of the truce, and the UAE mediated a separate swap of 350, but each side accused the other of thousands of violations. The Kremlin refused to extend the truce unless Kyiv met unspecified conditions. Zelensky proposed an energy truce and trilateral talks with Russia and the US in Azerbaijan. On 29 April Putin and Donald Trump discussed a ceasefire by phone, and Putin reportedly said he might announce a truce for Victory Day. Trump planned to invite Putin to the G20 summit in Florida.
The Iran war was the second theme. Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Russia offered to take Iran's enriched uranium, which the Kremlin said the US rejected, and Lavrov backed Iran's right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Putin in St. Petersburg on 27 April, and Putin pledged support and warned the US against new military action in Iran.
Elections in Europe drew Moscow's attention. Peter Magyar's win over Viktor Orban in Hungary on 12 April brought a Kremlin statement of hope for pragmatic relations, while Magyar said he would ask Putin to end the war. In Bulgaria, former president Rumen Radev won the 19 April parliamentary election, and the Kremlin welcomed the result. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia refused to let Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's plane cross their airspace on his way to Moscow. Italy, Germany and Czechia summoned Russian envoys.
At home, a Russian court criminalised the activities of the rights group Memorial and labelled it extremist, and Putin's approval rating reached a four-year low amid an economic slump and internet restrictions. Defence Minister Andrey Belousov visited North Korea on 26 April and agreed long-term military cooperation with Kim Jong Un.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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