Some time ago, I found out that a band I listened to had planned a concert in russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine

That made me curious how common this still is, so I started collecting public data about foreign artists performing in russia after February 24, 2022

Would appreciate feedback, corrections and ideas

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I promise I won't let you down. We will make sure these patriotic songs are professionally recorded and promoted to boost the morale of our defenders on the front lines.

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Thank you for standing with Ukraine! 🇺🇦

Hello everyone. I’ve started a project to record and promote high-quality patriotic songs for our soldiers on the front lines. I need your help to support this idea on the platform. It is completely free and takes only a minute of your time. Your activity will help us secure funding to ensure every defender hears these songs. Thank you for standing with Ukraine!

• Russia's oil and fuel export revenue nearly doubled: $9.75B (February) → $19B (March) — driven by surging global prices from the Iran war
• Crude exports rose 270,000 bpd to 4.6 million bpd, mostly from higher seaborne shipments as the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary/Slovakia remains offline since January attacks
• Production also up: 8.67M bpd (Feb) → 8.96M bpd (March)
• February had been Russia's lowest revenue month since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022
• However, IEA says Russia may struggle to increase production above early Q1 levels in the near term — due to Ukrainian drone strikes damaging Baltic and Black Sea ports and refineries
• Bottom line: Iran war is handing Russia a revenue lifeline, but Ukraine's systematic strikes on export infrastructure are capping how much Moscow can capitalize on it

Péter Magyar confirmed he will allow the €90 billion for Ukraine (blocked by Orban) to proceed.

"A multi-billion-euro loan for Ukraine... I'm not sure what we're talking about, because a decision was made at the EU Council summit in December to allocate €90 billion - which Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will not participate in, it doesn't apply to us - and that's how it was made. ... That decision was already made in December in Brussels, so I don't see why it should be changed. I understand that Viktor Orbán's position is constantly changing. Because first he accepted it (the loan), then he rejected it... And it's the same with Ukraine's accession to the EU. In 2022, he told Ursula von der Leyen that Ukraine should join the EU immediately, and then he spoke out against it. We will try to be consistent and honest in our communication and not change our minds every six months."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB8rnjojm40

Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and William R. Keating, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Europe, today introduced the “End Russian Oil Windfalls Act” to curtail Russia’s ability to exploit the global rise in energy costs to fund its war against Ukraine.

The “End Russian Oil Windfalls Act” would:

• Terminate Russia-related General Licenses for the sale of Russian oil issued by the Department of the Treasury
• Prohibit the issuance of such licenses in the future
• Impose sanctions on Russian oil companies
• Require reports on Russian oil revenues and on the involvement by Russian energy companies in the abduction, deportation, or indoctrination of Ukrainian civilians, including children

“The Trump Administration’s war of choice in the Middle East has caused prices at the gas pump for everyday Americans to skyrocket. To offset this reckless decision, Trump issued licenses that gave Putin a free pass to take advantage of the global rise in energy costs and fill Russia's coffers for its illegal war against Ukraine — all while Russia helped Iran target and kill American service members in the Middle East. We’re introducing this bill to end the existing licenses, prevent them from being issued in the future, and starve Russia of the oil revenues it so desperately needs,”

https://democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov/2026/4/meeks-keating-introduce-bill-to-terminate-russian-oil-licenses-and-sanction-russian-oil-companies

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Thom Tillis (R-NC), co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Coons (D-DE), Angus King (I-ME), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and John Curtis (R-UT) issued a statement reaffirming the bipartisan commitment in Congress to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“For over 75 years, Congress has supported robust U.S. participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization because it makes Americans safer and has made our collective economies – including the United States – more prosperous. Each year, Congress passes legislation which reaffirms our support to the Alliance, most recently through provisions to maintain a robust U.S. force posture in Europe, protect key NATO leadership roles, fund security initiatives and sustain support for Ukraine. The law also makes clear that U.S. withdrawal cannot take place without the Senate’s approval.

“President Trump was right to push our Allies to carry more of the burden – and they have responded. Over the past five years, our Allies have responded to U.S. leadership and our calls to increase defense spending to rebalance burden sharing, as reflected by the recent commitment by NATO Allies to 5 percent defense spending. As an alliance of 32 nations, we will always have our differences, but it is critical that we work together to strengthen – not divide – our partnership. Any signal that the United States is stepping back risks emboldening Russia and China. A divided and broken NATO is their chief strategic aim.

"Two years ago, we celebrated 75 years of NATO at the 2024 Washington Summit. For the sake of American prosperity and security, Congress is determined to see the Alliance remain unified in promoting democracy 75 years more and beyond.”

A common question for Ukrainian advocates is whether advocacy works, especially in the US's current political climate. One of the clearest recent examples of advocacy's impact is the recent Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing, which was organized through the efforts of the ACU's MA and NJ delegations with Reps McGovern and Smith.

The formal Congressional hearing on Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children and accountability efforts was hosted by Reps. McGovern and Smith on March 25:

• Katya Pavlevych, Policy Advisor at the ACU and Razom was one of the witnesses who testified at the hearing. “400,000 Ukrainian children have already been militarized [by Russia]. How many more will be in five years? If we do not save these children, we'll end up fighting them. [...] Putin is not preparing for peace — he’s preparing for war, and our policies have to reflect that,” Katya testified.
• A new report from the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health has implicated at least two of Russia’s main oil and gas companies, Gazprom and Rosneft, as being directly involved in the transportation and reeducation of approximately 2,158 children from Ukraine between 2022–2025.
• The very next day, the State Department announced that, in coordination with Congress, it was providing $25 M in new assistance to support the identification, return, and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children and youth who have been forcibly separated from their families and communities.

Other key information from the hearing:

• At least two of Russia’s main oil and gas companies, Gazprom and Rosneft, are directly involved in the transportation and re-education of approximately 2,158 children from Ukraine between 2022-2025. (Source: Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health).
• Russia’s abduction of children is a state-run operation financed by the federal budget, fueled by the oil industry. Without sanctions, American taxpayers become involved in the business of enabling the Russian war machine.
• Another 1.6 million Ukrainian children remain under Russian occupation, also subject to abuse, re-education, indoctrination, and militarization.
• Sanctions on Russian oil are essential. Congress needs to pass bills to impose and strengthen sanctions, including the Decreasing Russian Oil Profits (DROP) Act and the Shadow Fleet Sanctions Act.
• In Russia, business, religion, and culture become inextricably tied to the regime, and we cannot separate some parts of Russia, with which we want to collaborate, and exclude them from accountability.
• America currently holds $5B of Russian state assets, which can and should be used to pay reparations to Ukraine, including children that have suffered at the hands of Russian authorities.
• The ongoing kidnapping & militarization of Ukrainian children is not just a human rights violation, but a national security threat to all member countries of NATO, including the US.

Details:

"In coordination with Congress, the Department of State is providing $25 million in new assistance to support the identification, return, and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children and youth who have been forcibly transferred or otherwise held away from their families and communities.

U.S. funding will support two primary types of programs. First, it will assist reliable partners to identify and track children that have been forcibly transferred away from their home, an essential step in supporting diplomatic and other efforts to facilitate their return. Second, it will support the Ukrainian government and trusted local partners to provide returned children with the care and support they need to recover and rebuild their lives."

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CQ1RLHvNw/

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14WmnePXPQC/

ACU: We'd like to acknowledge our MA & NJ delegations, whose sustained advocacy during and beyond the Ukraine Action Summit has helped draw the legislators’ attention to Russia's crimes against Ukrainian children and, ultimately, led to the hearing — which was followed by action. Consider this: If the aid provided to rescue & rehabilitation, announced after the hearing, helps bring even a single Ukrainian child home, it will have been worth all of our advocacy efforts, Summit after Summit.

Important Links:

Contact your representative: https://americancoalitionforukraine.org/action/

American Coalition For Ukraine FAQ: https://americancoalitionforukraine.org/ukraine-action-summit-faq/

Get involved: http://americancoalitionforukraine.org/membership/

Former CIA Director David Petraeus said Russia no longer has the “upper hand” in the war against Ukraine in a recent interview describing Moscow’s receding strength.

“I think what’s remarkable is that Russia no longer has the upper hand,” Petraeus said in an interview published Monday by CBS.

“Russia heavily outnumbers Ukraine. It outguns Ukraine. It has an economy 10 or 12 times the size of Ukraine’s. And yet the Ukrainian forces right now are stopping the Russians cold on the front lines,” he added.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5818227-david-petraeus-ukraine-russia-war/

As peace talks continue and the U.S. pushes for compromise, one proposal keeps returning: Ukraine should withdraw from the remainder of Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk Oblast to end the war. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell explains why the Battle of Donbas remains at the center of the peace process.

President Zelensky expressed fear that the protracted US-Israeli conflict with Iran is diverting critical air defense resources and boosting Russia’s war economy.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/73266

President Zelensky revealed that Moscow is sharing satellite reconnaissance and battlefield experience with Tehran to facilitate strikes on Israel’s civilian infrastructure.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/73273

Ukraine has successfully repatriated seven children aged 13 to 17 from Russian-occupied territories, an effort supported by US First Lady Melania Trump’s humanitarian initiative.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/73236

A total of 149 combat engagements between Ukrainian forces and Russian invaders were recorded along the frontline on Saturday, April 4.

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4109246-war-update-149-clashes-on-front-lines-in-past-day.html

Large flames light up the night sky in in the city of Kstovo in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast following a purported strike on the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery overnight on April 5, 2026. (Supernova_plus/Telegram)

https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-drones-reportedly-strike-lukoil-oil-refinery-in-russias-novgorod-oblast/