Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev urged the European Commission to clarify whether the different countries of the EU are being treated differently by Gazprom, and whether there is any breach of the sanctions by companies in any of the member countries. This came about after information was made public that Greece has paid the Russian gas deliveries for April in rubles. Minister Vassilev also expressed reservations with regard to the European Commission proposal for financing of the member states for losses incurred as a result of the sanctions against Russia.

The Russian military have announced a safe maritime corridor on 25 May for the withdrawal, from the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, of the approximately 70 ships from 16 countries stranded there.

The pro-Russian separatists have taken control of the town of Svitlodarsk and two other settlements in Donetsk region, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko has confirmed. Outnumbering the Ukrainian forces in weaponry and troops, the Russian forces are close to encircling the town of Severodonetsk, setting up a “second Mariupol” there, Ukranian Presidential advisor Alexey Arestovic stated.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that Russia must “be denied the benefits of the global economy and the global economic order for a long time,” and that “These export controls, they are not going away anytime soon.”