Exclusives

Ukraine lost 500 American battle taxis. Now it's building a tougher one. Ukraine's standard M-113 armored personnel carrier is speedy and roomy but lacks protection. A new Ukrainian vehicle addresses that flaw.

Russia bombed the pipeline. Hungary blocked the loan. Ukraine is about to pay for both to unblock.. The timeline firms up: oil Tuesday, veto lift midweek, Brussels vote Wednesday. Kyiv's financing through 2027 hinges on all three.

€90 billion for Ukraine—two-thirds of the 2026–27 budget gap—clears Brussels Wednesday. EU ambassadors vote Wednesday on the final step. Sanctions and military aid remain blocked.

Pro-Russian party entered Lithuania's ruling coalition — and it's already blocking defense projects on the Suwalki Corridor. Still, Latvia may be more vulnerable.

Military

1.5 million more Russian soldiers would have to die to take the rest of Donetsk Oblast — Ukraine's UN ambassador. At 254 Russians killed per square kilometer, Russia needs 183 Years.

Ukraine struck Russian Samara oil terminal, which produces the Urals export grade of crude oil. SBU's Alfa unit struck the Samara oil station overnight on 21 April, damaging five 20,000-cubic-meter crude tanks at the facility that produces Russia's Urals export grade.

Zelenskyy: leaving Donbas means losing war's strongest shield — its cities. Zelenskyy says withdrawing from the Donbas would be a strategic defeat for Ukraine, with urban defenses far stronger than any line built in open fields.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine lost 500 American battle taxis. Now it's building a tougher one. Ukraine's standard M-113 armored personnel carrier is speedy and roomy but lacks protection. A new Ukrainian vehicle addresses that flaw.

Ukraine has delivered 92% of last year's fiber-optic drone total to front in under four months. Ukraine's just solved the fiber-optic cable price problem.

British Rapid Ranger is downing Shaheds in Ukraine from Spanish armored vehicles. Ukraine's air defense just gained a new super layer.

11 countries want Ukraine's drone defense technology: three Gulf states have already signed 10-year deals. Ukrainian interceptor drones (systems designed to shoot down Russian Shaheds and other attack UAVs) have emerged as one of the most battlefield-validated Ukrainian drone capabilities.

Ukraine's new exoskeleton has no electronics, no power supply, and takes 2 minutes to put on. In a war defined by electronic warfare, a purely mechanical system with no power requirements is specifically suited to frontline conditions.

Ukrainian defense tech is in demand worldwide — German minister Pistorius. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at the Hannover Messe that Ukrainian defense technologies are in demand worldwide and urged partners to keep them in sight.

Ukraine's drone operators are about to stop carrying five different controllers to front. The country is solving a significant issue.

Swedish Intelligence: Russia's economy is worse than its official data says. Still, it doesn't change Russia's military goals.

International

Russia bombed the pipeline. Hungary blocked the loan. Ukraine is about to pay for both to unblock. The timeline firms up: oil Tuesday, veto lift midweek, Brussels vote Wednesday. Kyiv's financing through 2027 hinges on all three.

€90 billion for Ukraine—two-thirds of the 2026–27 budget gap—clears Brussels Wednesday. EU ambassadors vote Wednesday on the final step. Sanctions and military aid remain blocked.

EU announced funding shortfall for Ukraine in 2027. EU Commissioner Dombrovskis says the €90 bn EU loan covers two-thirds of Ukraine's 2026–2027 needs, but the remaining third is secured only for 2026, leaving a 2027 gap.

EU plans to provide Ukraine with the first tranche of a 90-billion-euro loan in late May or early June. EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis says the first tranche of the 90-billion-euro loan for Ukraine will arrive in late May or early June 2026, with no technical delays in preparation.

"No truth" in it: Estonia rejects Zelenskyy's warning of a Russian mobilization aimed at the Baltics. Zelenskyy said Russia may mobilize to attack a Baltic state. Estonia's foreign minister told ERR the claim does not match Tallinn's intelligence or threat assessment.

Pro-Russian party entered Lithuania's ruling coalition — and it's already blocking defense projects on Suwalki Corridor. Still, Latvia may be more vulnerable.

Singer Dua Lipa helped raise funds for a pickup truck for Ukrainian military medics. Ukraine's First Separate Medical Battalion received a pickup truck funded at a Service95 event backed by Dua Lipa, organised with Driving Ukraine in London.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian drones hit Sumy hospital — 15 injured, three schoolgirls among wounded. Russia launched 143 drones and two Iskander missiles overnight on 21 April. A Sumy medical facility was hit, injuring 15, including three girls; one was killed in Kherson, and the school was destroyed in Sloviansk.

Russia keeps arresting Crimeans. The count just hit 520. The number of Crimean political prisoners has more than doubled since the full-scale invasion. A welder, a human rights defender, a father of four: three faces of the political repressions.

Political and legal developments

EU's hybrid threats sanctions list grows to 88 names. Two Russian information networks has been added.

Weaponized energy: Russia may cut off Kazakh oil to Germany on 1 May, risking Berlin-Brandenburg fuel shock. Russia may plan to reduce Germany's PCK refinery feedstock by 17%.

New developments

Ukrainian actor Oleksandr Rudynskyi joins Netflix's live-action "Gundam" adaptation with Sydney Sweeney. Netflix's biggest Mech adaptation starts filming in Australia.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Ukrainian pork enters Vietnam, Philippines, and Singapore as EU loses Asian ground. Three Asian markets are open to Ukrainian pork. Carrots spike 13% a week at home. Both point to the same missing infrastructure.

Russia's 20% windfall tax breaks Putin's promise—again. Oligarchs offered donations. Moscow chose compulsion, with oil at a four-year high.

Bulgaria's new Orbán? Ex-president Radev's anti-Ukraine party wins country's eighth election in five years. Bulgaria's ex-president Rumen Radev has won Sunday's parliamentary election — the country's 8th in five years. He opposes arms for Ukraine, wants "practical relations" with Moscow.

IMF withdraws previous scenario for Ukraine. New outlook is much more gloomy — but not without silver lining. The IMF just changed its baseline assumption on the country.

Bulgaria's eighth election in five years is today — and the frontrunner could become the EU's new Orbán on Ukraine. His rivals refuse to govern with Radev, the leader of a left-leaning coalition, making a stable pro-Russian government unlikely even if he wins.

Military

HUR's "Ghosts" hit two Russia's landing ships, $5 million radar, and fuel depot in one overnight operation. Russia is losing amphibious capacity it has had since the late Soviet period and cannot replace at similar scale or speed.

Ukrainian partisans cut power to Russian GRAU arsenal supplying Kharkiv front. They target the circulatory system of Russia's front forces.

Zelenskyy puts March price tag on Russian oil hits — $2.3bn in one month. Zelenskyy says Ukrainian long-range strikes cost Russia at least $2.3 billion in oil revenue in March alone, vowing to continue the campaign.

Tuapse burns again: drones hit the port city three days after the last fire was put out. Ukraine's GUR "Prymary" unit struck two Russian landing ships and a Podlet-K1 radar in occupied Sevastopol on 19 April; drones also hit Tuapse, killing one and igniting a fire at the seaport.

Belarus warns its neighbors against "aggression" same week it was building artillery positions on Ukraine's border. "We have enough other weapons," except nuclear, he claims.

Intelligence and technology

One-third of 103 companies building Russia's Su-57 used for launching Kh-69s are still not sanctioned. Ukraine can't stop the UMPK glide bombs the Su-57 will carry.

Russia tried to kill Ukraine's most public Shahed analyst — with four superspeed jet-powered Shaheds. Now, 20% of Russian Shaheds are manually piloted.

Ukraine named three banks to lease equipment to defense industry at 5% annual rate. The mechanism addresses one of the practical constraints that limit the speed at which Ukraine's defense industry can scale.

International

France may take over protecting logistics hub that supplies Ukraine's war effort. Most US- and allied-heavy equipment destined for Ukraine transits through this hub.

Druzhba pipeline restart this week after Russian attack could unlock €90 billion in EU aid for Ukraine. Hungary's precondition is being met; funding should follow.

Ireland plans "generous" payout to send 16,000 Ukrainian refugees home — The Times. Ireland plans to end state accommodation for 16,000 Ukrainian refugees within 12 months and offer a "generous" returns package, migration minister Colm Brophy tells The Times.

Ukraine reaches security deal with India — Zelenskyy says documents being finalized. Zelenskyy says Ukraine has reached a security cooperation agreement with India, with documents being finalized, following a briefing by NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov on 19 April.

EU Parliament press Norway to boost Ukraine aid from energy profits; Stoltenberg cites existing support. Members of the European Parliament urge Norway to channel surging oil and gas revenues into Ukraine aid, with a Greens lawmaker floating a windfall tax on Equinor. FM Stoltenberg points to existing support levels.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia launches 142 drones at Ukraine overnight – homes near Kyiv damaged, one hospitalized. Russia hit Ukraine with 142 drones overnight on 20 April, damaging homes in Kyiv Oblast and Kharkiv Oblast. Four civilians were injured.

Volyn foresters and Latvian volunteers lay "Forest of Remembrance" for engineer killed in 2023 shelling. Ukrainian and Latvian foresters planted a memorial forest in Volyn for Bohdan Kostiuchyk, killed in 2023, and all fallen foresters. A second forest follows in Latvia next week.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Lying flat might be worse than crouching. After four years, Ukrainians know things you don't.. Some people will die. This time, maybe it will be you.

The US has once again partially eased sanctions on Russian oil for one month. US Treasury issues General License 134B easing Russian oil sanctions for cargoes already at sea until 16 May, drawing sharp condemnation from Senate Democrats.

Donetsk was Russia's safe rear. Now AI drones hunt its supply trucks.. Relentless Ukrainian strikes on Russian air defenses are rendering wide swathes of the Russian rear area defenseless against further aerial attacks.

Ukraine MPs vote themselves untracked monthly cash inside an IMF-mandated tax bill. $4,555 per MP per month, no reporting, no liability—signed into law on 15 April.

Ukraine is developing its own unstoppable air-launched missile. Russia's Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile is extremely hard to intercept. That's why Ukraine wants its own version of the missile.

Military

Ukraine cut Russia's oil exports by 880,000 barrels in one day — that's $100 million every 24 hours. Russia tried to reroute oil from Sheskharis to Tuapse.

27 drones down, one port on fire: Leningrad Oblast governor reports overnight attack by Ukrainian drones. Russian officials report fires at fuel depots and near Vysotsk port after overnight drone strikes on 18 April, with incidents in Leningrad Oblast, Sevastopol, and Samara.

Intelligence and technology

UK, Netherlands, and Belgium just handed Ukraine core of future Black Sea demining fleet. Ukraine's crews already wrote the NATO manual on the Black Sea's demining.

What is inside Ukraine's new defense AI hub that will predict Russian moves? Ukraine plans to turn battlefield data into AI that Predicts Russian Moves

Pentagon kills Patriot's next-gen interceptor worth only $8 million in funding. Why build a new missile?

Ukraine orders 25,000 ground robots — more than double last year's total. This industry didn't exist before 2022.

International

Ukraine's FM meets Moldova's president in Türkiye, briefs her on the front line. Sybiha met Moldova's Sandu in Antalya, briefing her on the front line and Russian strikes, and coordinating on the 14–15 May Council of Europe session in Chișinău on the Special Tribunal.

New developments

Ukraine just took out mass shooter in Kyiv supermarket who killed six people. The man reportedly lived in Ryazan.

Exclusives

Donetsk was Russia’s safe rear. Now AI drones hunt its supply trucks.. Relentless Ukrainian strikes on Russian air defenses are rendering wide swathes of the Russian rear area defenseless against further aerial attacks.

Ukraine MPs vote themselves untracked monthly cash inside an IMF-mandated tax bill. $4,555 per MP per month, no reporting, no liability—signed into law on 15 April.

Ukraine is developing its own unstoppable air-launched missile. Russia's Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile is extremely hard to intercept. That's why Ukraine wants its own version of the missile.

Neutrality doesn’t mean indifference: Austria joins tribunal to prosecute Russia’s aggression. Vienna says neutrality doesn't mean indifference as it becomes the 20th state to back prosecution of Russia's crime of aggression.

Either Russia’s air defense doesn’t work, or NATO is launching drones, says Russia’s Shoigu. Shoigu cites Article 51.

Soviet 14th Army’s heirs just became persona non grata in Moldova. Chișinău drew a line on the Dniester.

Ukraine’s executives were most optimistic since the invasion. Oil had other plans.. The results capture a moment that no longer reflects current conditions.

Military

New roads and artillery positions: Zelenskyy warns of military buildup in Belarus near Ukraine border. Ukrainian intelligence detected the preparations near the border; Kyiv has warned Minsk through diplomatic channels that it is ready to defend itself.

From Belgorod to Crimea: Ukraine strikes 17 targets including Russian radar systems, drone labs, and logistics hubs. A Nebo-M in Belgorod Oblast and a Podlyot in Rostov Oblast are among the high-value systems reported destroyed in the multi-day campaign.

Ukraine depends on Western air defense. Zelenskyy says that has to change – and partners are on board. Speaking after Lviv meetings, Zelenskyy outlined a push for domestic production of missiles and systems as part of long-term security guarantees.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet once fired missiles from the Mediterranean. Now it can barely leave Novorossiysk.. A Ukrainian analyst says years of drone and missile strikes have reduced the fleet to a land-support tool with nowhere to go.

Russia sank the Henichesk in 2022. In June, a ship bearing its name will join Ukraine's Navy — but cannot sail home yet. The replacement vessel trains in the Netherlands, flies Ukraine's flag in June, and waits in a British port for the war to end and the Black Sea to open.

The most dangerous drone unit Russia has just lost its logistics base near Mariupol — Ukraine found it and burned it. Last night, Ukraine's SOF destroyed the base of Rubikon — Moscow's elite unit that operates virtually every Russian attack and reconnaissance drone type except Shaheds.

"Storm a treeline? Better to just take it apart with a Vampire" — drone battalion commander on how war changed in 2026. Maksym, call sign "Rumyn," says the kill zone has grown from 3 km to "many times larger" — and explains what that means for infantry.

SBU and drone forces destroy Russian fuel trains near Luhansk, cutting supplies to frontline troops. FP-2 drones struck railway tankers and damaged rail infrastructure Russia uses to sustain mechanized units on the front.

Ukraine's drone forces claim 16-target overnight strike – Iskander bases, air defenses, and a Rubikon workshop. The operation spanned Crimea, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia, coordinated through a newly established deep strike center.

Hero of 2022 battles will now command defense of five oblasts on Ukraine's Eastern Front.

Ukraine's Patriot crews are rationing missiles mid-attack — Ukraine's Air Force confirms interceptor missile shortage. An AF spokesman confirmed that the stocks of Patriot interceptors — the only solution against Russian ballistic missiles — are critically depleted.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine's private-sector air defense groups downed their first jet Shahed — Russia's drone that flies at 300+ km/h. A private group in Kharkiv Oblast made the interception, a minister reported. The network has grown from 13 to 19 enterprises it operates at since March, integrated into Air Force command.

Russia is pulling strategic reserves to prop up a failing offensive, HUR says — and 20,000 troops is less than one month of its own losses. Moscow's military missed its self-imposed April deadline to seize three Donetsk Oblast cities, now it wants the rest of the region captured by September.

Drones Russia thought were unjammable just met US LEONIDAS microwave weapon. Fiber-optic UAVs threaten logistics 50 km deep.

International

US delays weapons to NATO's eastern flank – Iran war drains stockpiles Europe was counting on. Countries bordering Russia are warned shipments won't arrive on schedule, adding uncertainty for Ukraine's air defense supply chain too.

Trump extended the ban on Russian ships docking in US ports — keeping a Biden-era measure alive through spring 2027. The White House cited Russia's policies as constituting a continuing disturbance to US international relations.

"Russia wants more war" – EU's Kallas pushes €90 billion loan and 20th sanctions after deadliest April strike. The EU foreign policy chief called out Moscow's "terror against the innocent" as ministers prepare to meet.

Humanitarian and social impact

Bullied for speaking Ukrainian, taken to camps, threatened with conscription: 19 children evacuated from Russian occupation. Bring Kids Back UA describe what the children endured before reaching safety – and how many more remain behind.

He flew from Peru to Moscow for work. Russia took his passport and sent him to Ukraine.. A Peruvian's account of abduction and coerced conscription adds Latin America to the map of Russia's global recruitment dragnet.

Political and legal developments

MP accused of ties to Russian security services and Crimea property deal moved to house arrest after sanctions blocked bail payment. Shufrych allegedly paid a Russian National Guard unit to guard his Crimea property – prosecutors say that counts as financing an occupying force.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusive

Ukraine is developing its own unstoppable air-launched missile. Russia's Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile is extremely hard to intercept. That's why Ukraine wants its own version of the missile.

Neutrality doesn't mean indifference: Austria joins tribunal to prosecute Russia's aggression. Vienna says neutrality doesn't mean indifference as it becomes the 20th state to back prosecution of Russia's crime of aggression.

Either Russia's air defense doesn't work, or NATO is launching drones, says Russia's Shoigu. Shoigu cites Article 51.

Soviet 14th Army's heirs just became persona non grata in Moldova. Chișinău drew a line on the Dniester.

Ukraine's executives were most optimistic since the invasion. Oil had other plans.. The results capture a moment that no longer reflects current conditions.

Slovenia's new parliament speaker claims he's not pro-Russian, plans Moscow visit, promises referendum on NATO exit. With Orbán voted out by Hungary in a landslide, Slovakia's Fico now has a potential EU ally in Stevanović — Slovenia's newly elected parliament speaker who backs lifting anti-Russian sanctions.

Emergency boilers sat in storage all winter. Now Ukraine is rethinking the whole approach.. Russia's energy campaign failed to break Ukraine. Kyiv has until October to build something stronger than luck.

WSJ: Europe is quietly building a NATO fallback in case the US steps back. Germany's shift — driven by Merz's conclusion that Trump was prepared to abandon Ukraine and had confused victim with aggressor — unlocked a broader coalition.

Russian air defenses are collapsing. Now Ukrainian warplanes can hit harder.. It's no surprise the Ukrainian air force targeted a Russian drone storage site in Donetsk recently. It's how the air force hit the site that's surprising. And bad news for Russia.

Politico: Fico is first in line for Orbán's disruptor crown — but Brussels has four more leaders to worry about. Fico threatened to veto Ukraine's €90 billion loan. Babiš demanded a carveout. Meloni told leaders she understood Orbán. Radev called Ukraine doomed. Janša is the only one who supports Kyiv — and he may not even form a government.

Military

SBU and drone forces destroy Russian fuel trains near Luhansk, cutting supplies to frontline troops. FP-2 drones struck railway tankers and damaged rail infrastructure Russia uses to sustain mechanized units on the front.

Ukraine's drone forces claim 16-target overnight strike – Iskander bases, air defenses, and a Rubikon workshop. The operation spanned Crimea, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia, coordinated through a newly established deep strike center.

Hero of 2022 battles will now command defense of five oblasts on Ukraine's Eastern Front.

Ukraine holds Hryshyne's center and northern Pokrovsk outskirts as Russia builds up for its next push, military says. Russian forces failed to consolidate in Hryshyne's center, while Ukraine continued detecting and destroying Russian targets throughout southern Pokrovsk to disrupt a buildup there.

"Just stop oil": Ukraine's drones return to Tuapse — the Rosneft site where the refinery and the Black Sea export pier are one asset. Fires confirmed by satellite at the pier, tank farm, and power plant represent another round in Ukraine's sustained effort to reduce Russia's oil export revenues.

Intelligence and technology

Drones Russia thought were unjammable just met US LEONIDAS microwave weapon. Fiber-optic UAVs threaten logistics 50 km deep.

Ukraine's Patriot crews are rationing missiles mid-attack — Ukraine's Air Force confirms interceptor missile shortage. An AF spokesman confirmed that the stocks of Patriot interceptors — the only solution against Russian ballistic missiles — are critically depleted.

Humanitarian and social impact

He flew from Peru to Moscow for work. Russia took his passport and sent him to Ukraine.. A Peruvian's account of abduction and coerced conscription adds Latin America to the map of Russia's global recruitment dragnet.

How Russia killed 16 Ukrainian civilians overnight — even as Ukraine intercepted 95% of its missiles and drones (updated). Two waves of missiles and Shahed-type drones — 703 aerial weapons in total — hit Kyiv and other cities, killing a child and three adults in the capital, eight people in one Odesa building, and three more across central Ukraine.

Read our earlier daily review

Exclusive

Germany will pay for "hundreds" of Patriot missiles for Ukraine as strategic partnership signed. Germany to provide IRIS-T launchers, invest in deep strikes, jointly develop mid-range drones

The €35 billion Hungary lost while Orbán picked fights with Brussels. Two pots, €2 billion already gone, and a deadline in August.

Ukraine spent a year beating wartime inflation. A different war just reversed it.. Fuel costs surged 23% in March as the Middle East war pushed prices past the central bank's forecast—and a rate hike is now on the table.

Ukraine is becoming a space power. The Ukrainian main intelligence directorate has completed at least two space launches since February 2022, according to one lawmaker.

Soviet power nearly erased Ukraine's Easter. What's being rebuilt exists almost nowhere else in Europe. Spring ritual games survived intact only in Ukraine, Lithuania, and parts of Serbia. This year, they were brought back from the dead in central Kyiv.

Estonia's Orthodox church that declared independence from Russia is still run by Moscow, intelligence report says. The Estonian Christian Orthodox Church adopted a new name and new statutes in 2025 — but Estonia's internal security service found the changes cosmetic, with Moscow Patriarch Kirill's oversight departments still directing its activities.

Military

Ukrainian forces pull back to prepared lines near Myropilske as Russia claims ground in three Sumy villages. Russia advanced near three Sumy settlements as Ukraine repositioned near Myropilske. Russian recruitment fell 20% in Q1 2026 as confirmed deaths rose to 25,000.

Ukraine's drone regiment takes out Russian fuel tanker, logistics hub deep in occupied Donetsk, Melitopol, Crimea. Ukraine's Raid drone regiment struck Russian logistics in occupied Zaporizhzhia; overnight drones also hit Melitopol and sparked blasts across Russian-occupied Crimea.

Intelligence and technology

Zelenskyy flew to Oslo to lay groundwork for joint project. Drone deal is next step. The joint declaration is signed.

Norwegian Kongsberg's answer to mass Russia's Shahed attacks: mast, camera, and 70 mm rocket. Norway just mounted a drone killer on Ukraine's own armored vehicle.

Kyiv strikes back: Ukraine names its new 1,400 km drone after month in winter which Russia hits hardest. "Sichen" means January.

SAM Ukraine built in secret is now standing in plain sight. Spain helped build it and IRIS-T shaped it.

Ukraine just gave Germany's AI something no simulation ever could: real war. Merz and Zelenskyy signed the most consequential defense tech deal in Europe.

Czech corporation is maintaining Russia's tank and artillery lines — investigation. A Czech industrial group publicly announced it was leaving Russia after the full-scale war.

Ukraine has enough weapons to defend itself for the first time in history, Zelenskyy says — and wants to sell that expertise abroad. Zelenskyy says Ukraine is armed well enough to defend against Russia for the first time in history, with drones reshaping the battlefield and G2G arms exports expanding.

International

Estonia watched Ukraine for four years. Now it's spending €500 million on lessons. Estonia is preparing for what comes next.

Zelenskyy in Berlin: Germany pledges air defense, long-range weapons and ammunition in new aid packages. Germany and Ukraine signed defense cooperation deals after Zelenskyy–Merz talks in Berlin, with new aid packages covering air defense, long-range weapons, drones and ammunition.

France, Germany, Netherlands, and Italy resist fast-track EU membership for Ukraine, Politico reports. Politico names France, Germany, Netherlands, and Italy as opposing Ukraine's accelerated EU accession, while Zelenskyy rejects any "EU-lite" membership deal at Berlin presser with Merz.

"We will provide the loan one way or another" — Brussels moves on €90B Ukraine package. EU Commission targets Q2 2026 for first Ukraine loan tranche from €90B package. Three legal documents remain before disbursement can begin.

Foreign Minister Sybiha urges to unblock the €90 billion loan as Brussels waits for Magyar to take office. Ukraine FM Sybiha urged EU's Kallas to unblock the €90B Ukraine loan after Orbán's defeat, as Cyprus aims to move fast — but the handover to Magyar won't come until May.

War didn't stop Ukraine from building economic footprint in West Africa. Ghana is getting Ukrainian flour.

Druzhba pipeline partially repaired by end of April — enough to function, Zelenskyy says. Zelenskyy says Druzhba pipeline will be operational by end of April and signals readiness to reset Ukraine-Hungary ties after Magyar's election win.

Magyar's victory: what it unlocks for Ukraine — and where it stops short. Hungary's new prime minister can now rewrite the constitution. He's made clear he won't rewrite everything.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian weapon Ukraine cannot intercept is now hitting civilian water supplies. Russia just bombed the dam that gives Kharkiv its drinking water.

Russia is using deported Ukrainian children as negotiating leverage, Foreign Minister told UN envoy. Ukraine's FM Sybiha told a UN envoy Russia is erasing deported children's identities and using them as leverage in negotiations. Up to 300,000 remain unaccounted for.

Russia is quietly expelling anyone in occupied Luhansk who didn't take a Russian passport. Russia deported 570 residents of occupied Luhansk Oblast in 2025 for lacking Russian citizenship, as deportation lists are kept in every "municipality."

Political and legal developments

Russia works on giving Putin legal pretext to invade any country with Russian citizens in it. "Russophobia" is now officially a reason for Russia to intervene.

Russia hands Crimea's main detention center to FSB. The transfer reverses a concession Russia made to the Council of Europe in 2005. Detention centers in Crimea are already at 103% capacity.

Read our earlier daily review here.

On Easter Sunday, a girl in embroidery walked across a living bridge of linked arms in the courtyard of Sofia of Kyiv, and the bridge kept reforming in front of her so she could keep walking. The dance is called Verbova doshchechka—the willow plank—and it comes from villages that preserved the cosmic logic: the child walks on the bridge, the bridge is spring, the bridge is the sun coming back, the bridge is life renewing itself, and the walking is how you enact the renewal.

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

Nobody in the courtyard on Monday explained any of that to the crowd while it was happening. The ritual did its own explaining. Five thousand people participated. Most of them were under thirty.

None of this should exist. It should have been destroyed first when the church attempted to ban pagan customs, and then when Soviet atheism tried to ban the church. It survived both, and today is a vehicle for both religious and national revival.

This was the third year of the dances. The first year, it was a smaller crowd and a research project that the Ivan Honchar Museum and the Sofia Kyivska National Reserve had started with archive recordings and a handful of youth folk ensembles.

By this spring, the project had trained around 300 people to perform the material—not as a concert, but as lived experience—and drawn an audience of around 5,000, mostly young, mostly from Kyiv, many of them students from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and Shevchenko University and the arts universities the organizers had spent months visiting.

There is a reason the organizers wanted it to look like this rather than like a folk festival. Folk festivals are performances. What they were trying to revive was participation. Vesnianky, the spring songs, were never stage material in the villages they come from. They were what young people did over three days of Easter—Sunday, Monday, Tuesday—to meet each other, to pair off, to bless marriages, to mark that the earth had turned.

In one village, the ethnographers would record fifty different versions. The songs were a technology for being twenty years old in a specific place in a specific April.

The ritual that blessed the couples planning to marry

Among the things reconstructed this year was a rite recorded in the village of Roskoshivka in Vinnytsia Oblast: the singing-over of young couples who plan to marry within the year. Nine couples came forward in the Sofia courtyard on Monday and stood in the middle of the circle while the dancers sang over them. The songs name the couple, name the intent, name the year.

It is not a wedding. It is a public blessing of the wanting. The ethnographic logic is that spring is when the pairing happens, and the community sings it into being before anyone signs anything.

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

The willow branches on the wheel with colored ribbons is older than any of this, older than Christianity on these territories. The wheel is the sun. The ribbons are the rays. The wheel gets carried through the spring cycle of feasts that runs from the first snowmelt through Trinity.

The fact that you can still see it being carried in 2026 in a courtyard fifty meters from a cathedral founded in 1037 is a specific kind of evidence about what the Soviets failed to finish.

The two suppressions

The rituals are older than Christianity here. The willow plank, the spring round dances, the structures inside the songs come from a pre-Christian agrarian and solar tradition the medieval church spent centuries trying to suppress as paganism. The church mostly failed. What it could not stamp out, it absorbed.

The texts of vesnianky often do not match the content of the Christian feasts they accompany. Priests allowed them anyway, because the cultural inheritance was too vast to refuse.

When the Soviet state came for religion, it was coming for a Christianity that had become the vessel for the older folk inheritance the church itself had once tried to ban.

The institution that spent the medieval centuries stamping out the pagan layer became, under Soviet atheism, the channel through which fragments of that layer survived. Both came through together. Neither would have made it on its own.

Even what survived is not fully understood. Many of the spring rituals carry symbolic structures whose meanings were never fully decoded by ethnographers, and the Soviets banned not only the practice of the traditions but the scholarly study of them.

"Some ancient traditions can be preserved as cultural heritage, and the time will come, God willing, when we can interpret and understand them," Myroslava Vertiuk, deputy director of the Ivan Honchar Museum, told Euromaidan Press. "Because in addition to bans on practice, there were bans on research."

How the Soviets tried to end Easter

They tried hard to finish what the church had given up trying to finish. Easter was the largest religious holiday in the country they had inherited, and a country that still wants to bake paska bread and dye eggs and carry branches is a country that has not fully accepted atheism as its operating system.

So from the 1920s onward, the Soviet state did everything a modern state can do to replace Easter with something it controlled.

Spring holidays were invented and scheduled for the Easter dates. Compulsory Saturday work brigades—subbotniki—were scheduled for Holy Saturday, followed by Sunday brigades on Easter itself. In the village of Levkiv in Zhytomyr Oblast, the residents were made to plant what was officially called a "godless garden" on Easter 1930. Schoolteachers stood guard at churches on Holy Friday to catch students trying to venerate the shroud. Women's hands were checked for traces of egg dye on Monday mornings.

In Marija Lukych's village of Bebekhy in the Radekhiv district, schoolgirls who went to have their paska blessed found themselves drawn in the school wall newspaper the week after — in the embroidered skirts they had worn to the church — and mocked in front of everyone.

In the east and center of the country, the suppression mostly worked. May Day and Victory Day moved into the space Easter had occupied, and the vesnianky stopped being sung. Galicia held on longer, because Galicia was Soviet only from 1939, and because the Greek Catholic underground kept Easter services in private apartments. But even there, the village-scale ritual layer thinned.

What the Honchar Museum team started doing three years ago was working their way through the IMFE archives and older ethnographic recordings to reconstruct what had been in those villages before the curtains came down—specifically in the Dnipro-region traditions that had been hit hardest and existed now mostly on paper.

Why this is the foundation being fought for

The curator team describes what they are doing in terms that are not only cultural: a national identity is being forged by remembering the oldest layers.

"These rituals can unite all regions and all generations," Myroslava Vertiuk believes. "They are universal instruments that can form our common background, the common ground we are standing on at this stage, when we are looking for shared heroes and the shared history we are now reinterpreting. The same is true of cultural experience. We are now forming the very state that the fight is being fought for."

The Soviet century disfigured the recognition. The Soviet-molded version of "national" culture became a mockery of what it once was, and the post-Soviet decades filled the vacuum with imported formats — Halloween, mall-Christmas, other people's holidays.

Ukraine's own customs were not laid at the foundation of nation-building. The borrowed ones, Vertiuk says, "look unconvincing, sometimes absurd."

The Honchar Museum's bet is that when the real material is shown clearly, young people will choose it without being told to. The process is democratic, contrasting with the USSR's top-down approach to cultural sterilization.

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

But why reach for this archaic culture? The deepest roots are the ones that nurture the best, Vertiuk believes, and they bring the most powerful cultural continuity in all European nations.

Ukraine holds these treasures, yet they were not transmitted to the younger generation; at one point, it even became ashamed of them.

"Across Europe, the most famous events—the ones that shape the cultural identity—are festivals with a history spanning 100 years or more...This is what the greatest brands are built upon, but it is something that cannot be created in a single day."

That is now beginning to change.

"We don’t want to impose anything; we simply want to show the authentic and profound culture to today’s young generation. And then we’ll see if they want to carry this with them into the future," Vertiuk added.

What Russia cannot burn out

There is a pan-European argument underneath all of this. Most European peoples once held the same complex of Easter customs—dyed and decorated eggs, special breads and cheese-based dishes, calendar fires lit at the threshold between winter and spring. Some of it survived widely. Some of it survived only in fragments, and only in specific places.

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

Traditional Easter celebrations near the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 12 April 2026. Photo: Ivan Honchar Museum

"Ukrainian traditional culture is closely tied to the broader European one," Yaroslava Muzychenko of the Ivan Honchar Museum told Euromaidan Press.

"Almost all European peoples, like Ukrainians, have the custom of dyeing eggs at Easter or decorating them with wax and pigments. Most have a special Easter bread and dishes made of cheese. These customs were preserved at least into the early twentieth century. In many European countries, Easter fires are still lit. The spring ritual games, however, were preserved and recorded only in Ukraine and Lithuania, and to a lesser extent in Serbia. In Ukraine, they are preserved most fully and most completely."

The Soviet project was to make the next generation ashamed of this. The next generation came anyway. This is the third year. Next year there will be more of them. Russia is trying to end Ukraine. Kyiv on Easter Monday was ending the ending.

Exclusives

Estonia's Orthodox church that declared independence from Russia is still run by Moscow, intelligence report says. The Estonian Christian Orthodox Church adopted a new name and new statutes in 2025 — but Estonia's internal security service found the changes cosmetic, with Moscow Patriarch Kirill's oversight departments still directing its activities.

Trump and Vance showed Europe's far right how to weaponize Ukraine. Don't expect them to stop.. For the White House, Ukraine is now reduced to a cheap punchline—lies and stereotypes they throw about—to aid the MAGA-European extreme right-Putin axis.

Ukraine launched two rockets into space from its territory during war, plans to make own space force. MP boasts of missile defense, hypersonic strike capabilities.

Mark Dixon: "We must declare the Economic World War on Russia". Four years into Russia's war on Ukraine, Mark Dixon thinks the West is losing the economic fight—not because the tools don't exist, but because they've never been used at full power.

The 10-point plan to wage the Economic World War—to harm Russia and help Ukraine. The domino effect of a rich Russia risks tipping the balance between whether democracy or autocracy prevails, and whether the future human race lives in freedom or under servitude.

Oil jumped 8% as Trump's Hormuz blockade undid the ceasefire crash. Talks collapsed in Pakistan. A naval blockade replaced a truce. For Russia's war revenues, the brief window of relief is over.

Russia spent $130 billion extra on sanctioned goods since 2022 — and it still couldn't find replacements for some of them, Latvia says. Latvia's intelligence service assesses that Putin likely receives sanitized reports burying the economic losses — making him even less likely to change course under economic pressure.

Trump's and Putin's ally Orbán ousted after 16 years as Magyar wins two-thirds majority and promises Hungary's return to Europe. Magyar's supermajority gives Tisza the votes to reverse the constitutional changes Orbán made after winning his own first two-thirds majority in 2010.

Military

Russia's Easter "ceasefire" stopped Shaheds for a day — and nothing else. Russian forces shot four Ukrainian POWs after capturing them near Veterynarne, Kharkiv Oblast — after the truce had formally begun — while Russia accumulated 10,721 other violations across the front, Ukraine says.

Russian tanks and IFVs rarely reach the contact line — Ukraine's 20 km kill zone stops them cold, spokesman says. Trehubov noted that quad bikes and motorcycles still get through, but calling them military hardware is a stretch.

No infantry: For first time, Ukraine captured Russian position using only drones and robots. Such systems conducted 22,000 missions in three months.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine and NATO are building new kind of wartime procurement. The Alliance just backed it financially.

Developer of Ukraine's Ruta missiles just partnered with Rheinmetall to build Europe's answer to HIMARS. Rheinmetall wants to scale it across NATO.

Ukraine built Areion on Neptune's backbone — and it can now be launched from almost anywhere. It fits on a trailer and hits like a cruise missile.

Russia's KRONA just entered testing. Ukraine and its allies need to move faster. Kalashnikov built an anti-drone system with two guidance types.

Russia is now using one Shahed to distract — and second to kill crew shooting it down. Russia has found Ukraine's drone hunters.

Ukraine just X-rayed Russia's $100,000 drone — and found components from China, Taiwan, and Switzerland. Only the EU is sanctioning the factory behind this drone. That's the problem.

Putin fortifies his family's home. Seven new missile towers went up in single day. Seven new Pantsir went up at Putin's residence in Valdai in a single day. The total is now 27. Ukraine hasn't struck there—yet.

International

Belgium and Spain just committed €1 billion each to Ukraine. Here's what they buy. Belgium is sending more F-16s.

EU hands Hungary's new leader 27 conditions. One of them is unlocking €90 billion for Ukraine. The other conditions span anti-corruption measures and the reversal of Orbán-era decisions found to violate EU rules.

Future Hungarian PM Magyar makes first statements on EU's €90 billion loan for Ukraine. The loan, not the aid, was blocked by Viktor Orbán's government.

Five years after Belarus' stolen election, Ukraine is still catching up on Tsikhanouskaya. Zelenskyy met Tsikhanouskaya in January — Ukraine's first presidential-level contact. Two months on, the Kyiv visit and special envoy remain undelivered.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia executed Ukrainian POWs under cover of its own "ceasefire". Russian forces shot four Ukrainian POWs after capturing them near Veterynarne, Kharkiv Oblast — after the truce had formally begun.

Political and legal developments

Trump's and Putin's ally Orbán ousted after 16 years as Magyar wins two-thirds majority and promises Hungary's return to Europe. Magyar's supermajority gives Tisza the votes to reverse the constitutional changes Orbán made after winning his own first two-thirds majority in 2010.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Ukraine tips drone war in its favor. Ukraine innovates fast, Russia scales hard. Ukraine is starting to do both.

Russia's An-series military transports were designed in Kyiv — and Moscow's leaked documents show 143 of its 368 military Antonovs need urgent repair. Internal Aviaremont files obtained by Dallas show Russia's primary repair plant for Ukrainian-designed military transports has spent all its government contract advances, cannot source parts, and was borrowing money to pay wages as of January 2026.

Russia couldn't take out Ukraine's electricity. Now it wants the water.. After failing to freeze Ukraine with energy strikes, Moscow has shifted its sights—Kyiv isn't waiting.

Satellites alone don't explain Iran's nine-fold jump in strike accuracy — InformNapalm says Russian SOF doctrine does. Iran's missile hit rate rose from 3% to 27% in weeks. The data transfer was real, but without Russian SOF closing the loop between reconnaissance and fires, those numbers don't move that fast.

Vladislav Inozemtsev: A collapse is not imminent. Economist Vladislav Inozemtsev on oil windfalls, Ukrainian strikes, and why the war will be won on the ground.

Military

Ukraine's general who lost Siversk just said what few commanders ever admit. This is how Ukraine handles the battlefield loss.

Fire engulfs Russia's strategic rear: Ukraine hit fuel, ammo, and drone command all in one night. Frontline coordination degraded, as the strike deepens disruption of Russian logistics.

Tver hears blasts, Krasnodar burns: Ukraine's drones reach deep into Russian rear. Drone debris sparked a fire at an oil depot in Krymsk, Krasnodar Krai overnight — 80 firefighters deployed, contained by morning.

Intelligence and technology

Best drone tech in world is in Ukraine. But it's running out of time to export it, says UK defense chief. Ukraine's drones go global.

Germany funds armored medevac fleet for Ukraine as one vehicle survives triple drone strike. Germany delivers 5 Mediguard armored medevac vehicles to Ukraine's National Guard. One prior unit survived 3 drone strikes; crew uninjured.

International

Ukraine proposes Norway access to its drone war secrets. Ukraine is arriving at Ramstein not only with a list of needs but with a portfolio of battle-proven capability that its partners want access to.

Hungary votes Sunday: what could change if Viktor Orbán loses to Péter Magyar—and what may not. On 12 April, Hungarians choose between 16 years of Kremlin-friendly obstruction and an untested challenger whose own record on Ukraine is more ambiguous than his rallies suggest.

Humanitarian and social impact

First glimpse in years— wife barely recognizes Ukrainian soldier after weight loss in Russia's captivity. The family reunited again.

Russia held them for years —Ukraine just brought home 182 prisoners, including Mariupol's defenders. Among them is a man abducted on his way to his father.

UN: Civilian casualties in Ukraine rose 49% in March, with small drones killing more people than any other weapon. UN records 211 civilians killed in Ukraine in March, up 49% from February. Small drones were the deadliest weapon, killing 66 — 70% more than March 2025.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Russia’s An-series military transports were designed in Kyiv — and Moscow’s leaked documents show 143 of its 368 military Antonovs need urgent repair. Internal Aviaremont files obtained by Dallas show Russia's primary repair plant for Ukrainian-designed military transports has spent all its government contract advances, cannot source parts, and was borrowing money to pay wages as of January 2026.

Russia couldn’t take out Ukraine’s electricity. Now it wants the water.. After failing to freeze Ukraine with energy strikes, Moscow has shifted its sights—Kyiv isn’t waiting.

Satellites alone don’t explain Iran’s nine-fold jump in strike accuracy — InformNapalm says Russian SOF doctrine does. Iran's missile hit rate rose from 3% to 27% in weeks. The data transfer was real, but without Russian SOF closing the loop between reconnaissance and fires, those numbers don't move that fast.

Vladislav Inozemtsev: A collapse is not imminent. Economist Vladislav Inozemtsev on oil windfalls, Ukrainian strikes, and why the war will be won on the ground

“Will not be tolerated” – UK exposes Russian spy submarine operation targeting its undersea cables. A decoy Akula and two GUGI mini-sub carriers operated covertly north of Britain before the Royal Navy intervened.

Moldova formally exits Russia’s post-Soviet CIS as Sandu signs withdrawal decrees. President Sandu's decrees complete a break that parliament voted through on 2 April.

France calls Hungary a traitor as recordings reveal Szijjártó fed Lavrov closed EU summit intel. Hungary's FM Szijjártó briefed Lavrov during EU summits, offered to send EU docs via Budapest's Moscow embassy, and coordinated sanctions obstruction.

Military

Withdrawing from Donbas would give Russia a free path to Kharkiv and Dnipro, Zelenskyy warns. New fortifications would take up to 18 months to build – and still couldn't match the protection of urban terrain Ukraine currently holds.

Russia's Black Sea oil hub resumes loading amid sustained Ukrainian drone campaign. One berth active at Russia's biggest Black Sea crude hub, with full recovery timeline unclear.

Ukraine strikes two Russian oil platforms in the Caspian Sea, nearly 1,000 km from the front. Kyiv says the platforms supply fuel and lubricants to Russian forces, making them legitimate military targets.

Ukraine destroys S-300V and drone command post in coordinated Zaporizhzhia strike. Ukraine destroys Russian S-300V system and drone command post in Zaporizhzhia in a coordinated multi-phase operation involving drones and the Air Force.

Ukraine hits oil-pumping station on route to Russia's biggest Black Sea export port, triggering fire. The Krymskaya station pumps crude toward Novorossiysk.

"If we don't hit them in the face, they will hit us and won't feel what war is" – Zelenskyy on Ukraine's energy strikes. Ukraine will keep targeting Russian energy infrastructure until Moscow stops hitting Ukraine's own, the president says.

Promised in 2023. Grounded in Belgium. Norway's F-16s still haven't reached Ukraine. A Western advisor says the jets were urgently needed this winter – and could have saved lives.

Ukraine's drone forces destroy 9th Tor-M1 in 9 days in occupied Donetsk Oblast. Russia uses the Tor-M1 to shield frontline positions — USF says that makes it a priority target.

Intelligence and technology

Russia building a 165,000-strong drone army. We cannot afford to stop — Syrskyi says. Ukraine's drone units have neutralized more Russian personnel than Moscow recruits for four straight months, Commander-in-Chief said, as intelligence data shows Russia racing to triple its unmanned troop numbers by year's end.

International

Trump tells Hungary to vote Orbán two days before election as polls show opposition surging. Trump backed Orbán 2 days before Hungary votes, calling him a "true friend" and "winner."

Ukraine to fix Druzhba pipeline this spring, Zelenskyy says. Zelenskyy says Ukraine will finish Druzhba pipeline repairs this spring under an EU deal, but won't guarantee transit safety against future Russian strikes.

Dmitriev arrives in Washington as Russia's sanctions clock ticks toward April 11, Reuters reports. Russia's envoy Dmitriev is in the US as a 30-day oil sanctions waiver expires 11 April, Reuters reports. Peace deal talks also on the agenda.

From Kyiv's skies to the Gulf: Ukraine trades drone war expertise for diesel and interceptors. Ukraine shot down Iranian Shaheds in multiple Middle East countries, Zelenskyy says, as Kyiv opens security talks with Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

Pentagon called in Vatican's top US diplomat over Pope's anti-war remarks, media reports. The Pentagon summoned Pope Leo XIV's Vatican envoy over his anti-war remarks. Sources describe a "bitter lecture."

German AfD party will expel from its ranks a Chechen who advocates for Germany's "unity" with Russia. A Chechen-born influencer Murad Dadaev met Kadyrov-linked officials, trained with a Kalashnikov, and gifted a Wehrmacht swastika dagger during a Chechnya trip.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia strikes apartments in Konotop, Sloviansk, and Odesa, wounding three women. Three women wounded in Sloviansk, residential buildings hit in Sumy and Odesa oblasts as Russia deploys Shahed, Gerber, and Italmas drones across nine regions overnight.

"Incapable to proceed": man who killed Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska ruled incompetent. DeCarlos Brown, accused of stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte train, has been found mentally unfit for trial, stalling death penalty proceedings backed by Trump.

Political and legal developments

"Cultural propagandists" – Ukraine sanctions five Russian participants in the Venice Biennale. The five include a Rostec arms executive's daughter appointed pavilion commissioner and Putin's envoy who called the war "an important historical moment."

Russia dismissed Ukraine's Easter truce offer – then declared its own days later. A year ago, Russia declared the same kind of ceasefire – and violated it more than 2,000 times.

Russia has no war goal and Putin is a "Punchinello," says ex-DNR "governor" who vowed to exterminate Ukrainians. A former neo-Nazi paramilitary member who once threatened to kill up to five million Ukrainians now says Russia has no idea what it is fighting for — and faces an administrative case for criticizing the army he joined.

"It will be very difficult for us until September" – Zelenskyy on possible paths for peace talks. Zelenskyy warns of a difficult spring–summer ahead, citing an August US political deadline and two possible Russian paths: escalation or peace talks.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusives

Moldova formally exits Russia’s post-Soviet CIS as Sandu signs withdrawal decrees. President Sandu's decrees complete a break that parliament voted through on 2 April.

France calls Hungary a traitor as recordings reveal Szijjártó fed Lavrov closed EU summit intel. Hungary's FM Szijjártó briefed Lavrov during EU summits, offered to send EU docs via Budapest's Moscow embassy, and coordinated sanctions obstruction.

WP: Hungary is sharing intelligence with Iran, while Vance flies to Budapest to back its leader amid election campaign. Vance is Campaigning for a man whose minister offered Iran his intelligence services.

Hungary robbed $82 million from Ukraine’s state bank, now it has fabricated subtitles on a toilet-office joke video to justify it. They took a year-old private video from an illegally seized phone of couriers joking about preparing documents in a public restroom and added a phrase about "corruption money" that was never spoken to the subtitles.

Ukraine and Croatia are building underground drone factory to kill Chinese supply chain. General Cherry and ORQA sign first joint production deal on Ukrainian soil, targeting full localization of drone components.

Oil posts biggest crash since 1991—but the Gulf ceasefire has two versions. Brent fell 15%. Missiles kept flying. Iran’s “open” Strait comes with a $2 million entry fee.

Military

Ukraine hits oil-pumping station on route to Russia's biggest Black Sea export port, triggering fire. The Krymskaya station pumps crude toward Novorossiysk.

"If we don't hit them in the face, they will hit us and won't feel what war is" – Zelenskyy on Ukraine's energy strikes. Ukraine will keep targeting Russian energy infrastructure until Moscow stops hitting Ukraine's own, the president says.

Promised in 2023. Grounded in Belgium. Norway's F-16s still haven't reached Ukraine. A Western advisor says the jets were urgently needed this winter – and could have saved lives.

Ukraine's drone forces destroy 9th Tor-M1 in 9 days in occupied Donetsk Oblast. Russia uses the Tor-M1 to shield frontline positions — USF says that makes it a priority target.

Russia building a 165,000-strong drone army. We cannot afford to stop — Syrskyi says. Ukraine's drone units have neutralized more Russian personnel than Moscow recruits for four straight months, Commander-in-Chief said, as intelligence data shows Russia racing to triple its unmanned troop numbers by year's end.

Ukraine's interceptor drones just set record, as industry has crossed threshold. Ukraine is paying drone companies per Shahed they shoot down — and it's working.

Ukraine's Leopard 2A6 reportedly hit Russian T-72B3 at 5.5 km — this may be longest kill in this war. Ukraine is turning the Leopard 2A6 into a sniper rifle against Russian armor.

Ukrainian intelligence called it "the last Russian railway ferry in the Kerch Strait still afloat" — now it's out of action too. The Slavyanin carried fuel, weapons, military equipment, and ammunition to Russian forces in occupied Crimea. HUR says it destroyed its ability to operate with a drone strike on the night of 5–6 April.

Ukraine hit Crimea's key fuel hub and struck deep into Luhansk Oblast — while clearing more air defenses across the occupied south. The Feodosiia Marine Oil Terminal fire was visible over 20 km away and confirmed by NASA FIRMS; in separate strikes that week, Ukrainian forces also destroyed a Buk-M3, Tor-M2, and a Zoopark-1M radar.

Intelligence and technology

"Will not be tolerated" – UK exposes Russian spy submarine operation targeting its undersea cables. A decoy Akula and two GUGI mini-sub carriers operated covertly north of Britain before the Royal Navy intervened.

Japan is sending engineers to Ukraine's frontline — and they're coming back with $2,500 weapon. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are watching a Ukrainian drone startup more closely than Raytheon.

German, Japanese, and Swiss machines are inside Russia's missile factories. None are sanctioned. Russia builds Iskander missile components on German lathes and Swiss machining centers.

International

"They trust Putin": Zelenskyy says US ignored proof of Russia-Iran military cooperation. Zelenskyy says Russia passed US base coordinates to Iran and Washington ignored it — because it trusts Putin. Trump envoys visited Moscow 5 times, never Kyiv.

Pentagon called in Vatican's top US diplomat over Pope's anti-war remarks, media reports. The Pentagon summoned Pope Leo XIV's Vatican envoy over his anti-war remarks. Sources describe a "bitter lecture."

While West watches Middle East, Russia quietly secured foothold in world's second-largest graphite producer. Russia got cobalt, graphite, rare earths, and access to a key Indian Ocean shipping route.

Russia's buffer zone wishlist now includes Vinnytsia — via Moldova's Transnistria, Ukrainian official says. Zelenskyy's office deputy chief Palisa said this is the first time such plans have been recorded, though he stressed Russia currently lacks the forces to act on any of its territorial ambitions.

Humanitarian and social impact

"Incapable to proceed": man who killed Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska ruled incompetent. DeCarlos Brown, accused of stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte train, has been found mentally unfit for trial, stalling death penalty proceedings backed by Trump.

Artemis II just flew around Moon. Path that got humans there started with Ukrainian engineer from Poltava in 1929. He died in WWII and never saw the Moon landing he made possible.

ISW: Russians "weaponizing civilian harm as an intentional tool of war" by pervasively employing human safari tactics. The assessment follows two FPV strikes on civilian buses in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on 7 April — part of a pattern that the UN has previously confirmed as crimes against humanity.

Ukraine's greatest philosopher visited this estate. Russia burned it down 242 years later. The Donets-Zakharzhevskyi estate in Velykyi Burluk — a locally protected architectural monument where Hryhorii Skovoroda once stayed — was completely consumed by fire on 7 April after two direct drone strikes; no casualties were reported.

Political and legal developments

German AfD party will expel from its ranks a Chechen who advocates for Germany's "unity" with Russia. A Chechen-born influencer Murad Dadaev met Kadyrov-linked officials, trained with a Kalashnikov, and gifted a Wehrmacht swastika dagger during a Chechnya trip.

Leaked documents show Hungary agreed to Russian teachers, energy deals, and circus cooperation with Moscow. Magyar calls it outright betrayal. Hungary and Russia signed a 12-point cooperation plan.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusive

Hungary robbed $82 million from Ukraine's state bank, now it has fabricated subtitles on a toilet-office joke video to justify it. They took a year-old private video from an illegally seized phone of couriers joking about preparing documents in a public restroom and added a phrase about "corruption money" that was never spoken to the subtitles.

Ukraine and Croatia are building underground drone factory to kill Chinese supply chain. General Cherry and ORQA sign first joint production deal on Ukrainian soil, targeting full localization of drone components.

Oil posts biggest crash since 1991—but the Gulf ceasefire has two versions. Brent fell 15%. Missiles kept flying. Iran's "open" Strait comes with a $2 million entry fee.

Ukraine unleashes machine gun-toting drones into the Black Sea. Evidence for this adaptation comes from both Ukrainian and Russian sources.

China opens its flour market to Ukraine as Kazakh producers pay for using Russian wheat. In the same week Beijing welcomed Ukrainian flour, it blocked Kazakh producers from using Russian wheat.

Military

Ukraine's Leopard 2A6 reportedly hit Russian T-72B3 at 5.5 km — this may be longest kill in this war. Ukraine is turning the Leopard 2A6 into a sniper rifle against Russian armor.

Ukrainian intelligence called it "the last Russian railway ferry in the Kerch Strait still afloat" — now it's out of action too. The Slavyanin carried fuel, weapons, military equipment, and ammunition to Russian forces in occupied Crimea. HUR says it destroyed its ability to operate with a drone strike on the night of 5-6 April.

Ukraine hit Crimea's key fuel hub and struck deep into Luhansk Oblast — while clearing more air defenses across the occupied south. The Feodosiia Marine Oil Terminal fire was visible over 20 km away and confirmed by NASA FIRMS; in separate strikes that week, Ukrainian forces also destroyed a Buk-M3, Tor-M2, and a Zoopark-1M radar Brovdi called "a fierce enemy" of Ukrainian artillery.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine's interceptor drones just set record, as industry has crossed threshold. Ukraine is paying drone companies per Shahed they shoot down — and it's working.

Japan is sending engineers to Ukraine's frontline — and they're coming back with $2,500 weapon. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are watching a Ukrainian drone startup more closely than Raytheon.

German, Japanese, and Swiss machines are inside Russia's missile factories. None are sanctioned. Russia builds Iskander missile components on German lathes and Swiss machining centers.

International

WP: Hungary is sharing intelligence with Iran, while Vance flies to Budapest to back its leader amid election campaign. Vance is campaigning for a man whose minister offered Iran his intelligence services.

While West watches Middle East, Russia quietly secured foothold in world's second-largest graphite producer. Russia got cobalt, graphite, rare earths, and access to a key Indian Ocean shipping route.

Leaked documents show Hungary agreed to Russian teachers, energy deals, and circus cooperation with Moscow. Magyar calls it outright betrayal. Hungary and Russia signed a 12-point cooperation plan.

Humanitarian and social impact

ISW: Russians "weaponizing civilian harm as an intentional tool of war" by pervasively employing human safari tactics. The assessment follows two FPV strikes on civilian buses in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on 7 April — part of a pattern that the UN has previously confirmed as crimes against humanity.

Ukraine's greatest philosopher visited this estate. Russia burned it down 242 years later. The Donets-Zakharzhevskyi estate in Velykyi Burluk — a locally protected architectural monument where Hryhorii Skovoroda once stayed — was completely consumed by fire on 7 April after two direct drone strikes; no casualties were reported.

Political and legal developments

Russia's buffer zone wishlist now includes Vinnytsia — via Moldova's Transnistria, Ukrainian official says. Zelenskyy's office deputy chief Palisa said this is the first time such plans have been recorded, though he stressed Russia currently lacks the forces to act on any of its territorial ambitions.

New developments

Artemis II just flew around Moon. Path that got humans there started with Ukrainian engineer from Poltava in 1929. He died in WWII and never saw the Moon landing he made possible.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Ukraine unleashes machine gun-toting drones into the Black Sea. Evidence for this adaptation comes from both Ukrainian and Russian sources.

China opens its flour market to Ukraine as Kazakh producers pay for using Russian wheat. In the same week Beijing welcomed Ukrainian flour, it blocked Kazakh producers from using Russian wheat.

Trump's blunders in Iran have made Russia the big winner. But Ukraine is fighting back.. Five weeks on, we are updating our analysis of the Iran war and its impact on Ukraine: what we got right, what we got wrong, and the moves that nobody saw coming.

"I am at your service": Bloomberg transcript shows Orbán pledged full assistance to Putin. Bloomberg reviewed a transcript of Orbán's 17 October 2025 call with Putin: "I am at your service." Budapest summit talks, fables, and Hungary's election Sunday.

How far has Ukraine come on its key EU reform commitments? Nine points out of 100.. One year, 10 priorities, 100 points. Three months in, Ukraine has nine.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet is down to 7 major warships. Ukraine is hunting them one by one.. Striking more often with more powerful drones, Ukraine is determined to finish off the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

NATO's generals warn of war by 2029. Europe won't be ready until 2035.. The gap between threat timeline and readiness timeline is not a planning error. It is a window.

Serbia clears Ukraine—no link to pipeline sabotage amid Hungary elections. The explosives had US markings, which Serbia's military chief noted proves nothing about who planted them.

Military

Ukraine keeps hitting same Russian oil terminal — and it's getting worse every night. Ukraine is systematically destroying Russia's Baltic oil gateway.

NYT: Ukraine attacks Russian oil ports to cut into Iran's war profits. Ukraine escalates drone strikes on Russia's Baltic oil ports handling 40% of crude exports, as Iran's Hormuz crisis doubles Kremlin oil revenues.

Russia's Baltic port resumed shipments two days ago. Ukraine just struck it again.. The 7 April attack hits the Baltic port again amid a wider campaign targeting Russia's major oil export hubs.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine's deep-strike drone program has one bottleneck: tiny jet engine made by three European companies. Europe makes 200 a month. Ukraine needs thousands.

Your router could be Russian spy — Ukraine and FBI just exposed how Moscow did it. Russia hacked home routers to steal passwords.

Ukraine's Leopard took 52 hits and kept going. This is armor upgrade that made it possible. The tank survived because it had been transformed into something closer to a fortified position than a vehicle.

Ukraine's RBS 15 anti-ship missile reportedly made its combat debut — and it flies 2 meters above water. The Ukrainian Navy published footage of an RBS 15, a Swedish-made anti-ship cruise missile, launching from a mobile ground launcher against Russian targets.

Ukraine's robot army is exploding in size: from 67 units to 167 in four months. Ukraine's frontline robots just completed 9,000 missions in a single month.

International

Vance lands in Budapest: Trump's VP joins Orban rally as polls show Fidesz down 20 points. Vance lands in Budapest to rally with Orbán — days after leaked tapes caught Hungary's FM telling Lavrov "I am always at your disposal."

Vance openly supports Russia's favorite European ally in Budapest, while accusing Ukraine in meddling Hungarian elections. Vance just flew to Budapest to meet the politician who leaks the EU secrets to Moscow.

"We expect more nonsense": Sybiha warns of Russian fakes targeting Ukraine's Gulf defence role. Ukraine FM Sybiha warns of Russian disinformation targeting Ukraine-Gulf ties, calling the campaign proof of Moscow's failure.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia's drone hits Nikopol bus mid-route: 3 dead, 12 injured at city-centre stop. "This was not a random strike. This is deliberate terror against civilians," — Dnipropetrovsk OVA head Oleksandr Hanzha.

Political and legal developments

Ukrainian duo indicted in Romania for setting incendiary traps at Nova Post office — allegedly on Russia's orders. Romania indicts two Ukrainians for planting incendiary parcels at a Nova Post office in Bucharest in an alleged Russian-linked sabotage plot.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Russia listed Ivory Coast as a "promising country" for influence operations — then ran four anti-Ukraine campaigns there in five months. Leaked documents from the Russian network "The Company," analyzed by France 24, reveal how Moscow ran four disinformation campaigns against Ukraine in Ivory Coast in 2024.

"There are no small literatures": an American scholar on Ukraine's battle for culture and truth. Showing atrocities doesn't move people. Andrew Giarelli has been thinking about why and what works instead.

How do you prosecute a tanker that changed its flag nine times?. The Flora 1 had taken up to six names and flown up to nine different flags. Sweden couldn't prove it spilled the oil.

Ukraine and Syria show interest in sharing military experience as Zelenskyy makes first Damascus visit. Ukraine and Syria agree to work together on security and food supply — a striking turnaround for a country that once endorsed Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory.

TurkStream pipeline explosives in Serbia are "most probably" a Russian false-flag operation aimed at Hungary's election, Ukraine says. Explosives were found one week before Hungary's 12 April elections — Hungarian opposition leader and security experts had publicly predicted the operation days earlier.

Mongols, Soviets, now Putin: every empire told Ukraine "you are one of us." None were right.. A Holy Week walk through Lviv's churches, three days after a Shahed drone hit a 17th-century monastery, finds Russia's boot print older than the building it just tried to destroy.

Armenia could quit Russia's NATO-equivalent alliance and economic union if Moscow uses gas as leverage, parliament speaker says. Simonyan said on 4 April that a gas price hike would prompt Armenia to exit both the Russia-led CSTO military bloc and the Eurasian Economic Union.

Fico joins Orbán in demanding the EU lift Russian energy sanctions — a week before Hungary's election that could end Orbán's 16-year rule. After a call with Orbán on 4 April, Slovakia's PM claimed Brussels must immediately reopen dialogue with Russia and restore Druzhba pipeline flows — revenues that directly fund Moscow's war against Ukraine.

Military

Kyiv confirms it hit Sheskharis and a Be-12 last night — a Black Sea oil hub and a Crimea-based anti-submarine aircraft. Ukraine's General Staff confirmation follows OSINT verification of three hits at the Novorossiysk terminal, which accounts for 3.5–4.5 mn tonnes of Russian crude exports per month.

Kyiv proposes energy ceasefire to Moscow, as Ukrainian long-range strikes already disrupted over 40% of Russia's seaborne oil exports. Russia can't protect its oil terminals. Ukraine destroyed $1 billion worth in five strikes. It just offered to stop — on one condition.

Ukraine strikes Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich, launching its air defense missiles at drones in Russia's primary Black Sea port (VIDEO). Admiral Grigorovich carries the missiles that strike Ukrainian cities. Last night, it learned what it feels like to be on the receiving end.

ISW: Ukraine at Huliaipole and Oleksandrivka keeps disrupting Russian spring offensive across the theater. Ukrainian counterattacks at Huliaipole and Oleksandrivka force Russian naval infantry redeployments, disrupting Moscow's spring offensive across the theater.

Ukraine takes back 480 sq km near Oleksandrivka as Russia pushes for Dnipropetrovsk "buffer zone" – Syrskyi says. Ukraine recaptured 480 sq km and 12 settlements on the Oleksandrivka direction since late January, Syrskyi reports after a front visit.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine may be using new weapon that disables infrastructure without explosions. In Iraq in 1990-1991, this technology was used by coalition forces and destroyed up to 85% of the country's energy system.

Ukraine's Fire Point company is working on revolutionary system which can also transform European air defense. This could be a game changer in ballistic defense.

1,1000 Ukrainian officers complete "Captain's Training" program—NATO-based 7-day-per-week curriculum to shape battlefield leaders. The program is continuously updated with real combat lessons to ensure officers are prepared for evolving threats and operational realities.

Russia rains "Krasnopol-M2" techno-lethal shells on Ukraine, as five Russian plants remain outside Western sanctions. The Krasnopol-M2 combines lethality with flexibility for Russian forces.

EV battery tech gives Ukraine's fixed-wing drones a 46% range boost — and a Buk-M1 scalp. Ukraine's PAWELL extended drone range from 30 km to 197 km using EV battery tech, destroying a Buk-M1 and hitting an ammo depot. Next target: 400 km.

Sweden to provide Ukraine with Tridon Mk2 air defense systems to combat "suicide drones". Sweden allocates €400M for Tridon Mk2 air defense systems for Ukraine to counter Shahed drones. Up to 300 rounds/min, 12 km range.

International

Ukraine and Syria to reopen embassies as trade hits ninefold surge since September. Ukraine and Syria agreed to reopen embassies in Kyiv and Damascus, as bilateral trade has grown ninefold since September 2025, Sybiha said after Zelenskyy's Damascus visit.

Serbia clears Ukraine—no link to pipeline sabotage amid Hungary elections. The explosives had US markings, which Serbia's military chief noted proves nothing about who planted them.

Humanitarian and social impact

Ukraine identifies Russians in Bucha: one of them fired at civilian during burial. Another forced a civilian to kneel.

Russia launches 141 drones across Ukraine, kills mother and toddler in Odesa. A large overnight drone attack struck the country's north, south, and east—cutting power to 10,000 in Chernihiv Oblast and killing three in Odesa, including a two-and-a-half-year-old girl.

He was once a migrant himself. Now he jailed for stealing Ukrainian flag and smashing car — because he hated that refugees "take our jobs". Lithuanian court jails rideshare driver 90 days for stealing Ukrainian flag and vandalizing a car chosen for its Ukrainian license plates.

Political and legal developments

"Aggression cannot be normalized through sport": Ukraine wins landmark chess ruling at CAS. CAS banned Russia from holding chess tournaments in occupied Ukraine. Moscow says it will ignore the ruling and risks a 3-year FIDE suspension.

SBU general who ran Russia's Kherson filtration ops dies. Former SBU major general Lyapkin, who ran filtration operations in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast, was killed fighting for Russia on 17 March 2026.

Read our earlier daily review

Exclusives

Stoltenberg offered Russia NATO troop withdrawals from the Baltic region — without asking the Baltic states. A new memoir by the former NATO Secretary General reveals he proposed discussing troop withdrawals that the alliance's Baltic members had not consented to—and knew nothing about.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption court upholds 6-year term for ex-tax chief in gas scheme. Appeals chamber confirms sentence nine years on, with the clock nearly out.

Sweden finds a 12 km oil slick east of Gotland — boards sanctioned “shadow fleet” tanker. The Flora 1, which has unclear flag status and was sailing from a Gulf of Finland port toward an unknown destination, now sits at anchor near Ystad as prosecutors lead an environmental crime investigation.

Overcrowded, understaffed, overpriced: Kyiv’s wartime kiosk wave collapses. An oversaturated market, customers who got poorer, workers who aren’t there, and then the electricity bill.

Attacking through Russia’s best drones, a Ukrainian column lost a precious M-1 tank—and potentially a lot of troops. A Ukrainian tank led several vehicles in an effort to reinforce positions northwest of Pokrovsk. Was the effort worth the cost?

Kremlin: Russia is forming new military units for “everyone,” including students. Reports say university rectors were told to push 2% of students into the army: up to 76,000 soldiers.

“The last thread that keeps us anchored in a toxic, bitter past” — Moldova’s parliament votes to leave the post-Soviet CIS bloc. Parliament backed the denunciation of the founding agreements 60 to 17 on 2 April, with Communists and Socialists the only bloc voting against.

As Hungary blocks Ukraine’s €90 billion, the EU quietly splits into two tiers—one for 27 members, one for 26. The €90 billion standoff may be the moment the multi-speed Europe that Brussels has avoided becomes unavoidable.

50% profit tax, no dividends, no new licenses—Eastern European fintechs are buying Ukrainian banks anyway. Eastern European fintechs are betting on Ukraine’s reconstruction while the war continues.

Sweden to send Tridon anti-air cannon to Ukraine to gain valuable experience for its drone defense. Sweden introducing mobile air defense doctrine focused on anti-drone capabilities

Military

Magyar's Birds took out a Buk-M1, wiped fuel stocks, and hit logistics in Luhansk – all in one night. A wave of coordinated Ukrainian drone strikes across three days also destroyed Orion drones in Crimea and a Buk-M3 in Luhansk Oblast.

Drones caused 96% of Russia's losses in March – 34,000 troops killed or wounded. Zelenskyy's tally puts unmanned systems far ahead of every other weapon combined.

Russian Su-30 fighter crashes in occupied Crimea — fourth Russian military aircraft loss in four days. The jet was unarmed and on a scheduled training flight when it crashed on 3 April, with both crew members ejecting safely, Russia's MoD claimed.

Russian troops keep crawling through the pipelines. Ukraine's drone units have every exit covered. Ukraine's "Eyes" battalion has integrated the pipeline network into its surveillance systems, watching for engineering changes and infiltration preparations in real time.

Kholodnyi Yar commander: The drone war is won at the contact line, but it is decided in the depth. Shamil Krutkov says Ukraine's brigades must push drone operations deeper into Russian rear areas, and the key variables are the number and quality of available UAVs as well as enemy positioning.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine may be using Libya as launchpad for Mediterranean strikes on Russian shadow fleet – RFI. RFI investigation finds more than 200 Ukrainian officers and technical specialists based across three Libyan sites, with Tripoli's approval – and direct Mediterranean access.

Fishing nets used in the Mediterranean for millennia — now Italy wants to turn them into drone shields over Ukrainian cities. Senator Scalfarotto introduced the bill after Ukraine demonstrated that mesh strong enough to haul fish can also stop a Shahed from reaching a hospital or a convoy.

West has luxury of studying how modern warfare works. No American drone manufacturer can match what Kyiv built under fire. The Pentagon just concluded no American manufacturer can match what Ukraine learned the hard way.

International

Egypt was Russia's biggest stolen-grain customer. Now it pledges to buy Ukrainian wheat instead. Cairo pledged to stop accepting Russian-supplied grain from occupied Ukrainian territories after a call with Zelenskyy – just as Putin pitched Egypt as a hub for Russian commodities.

Ukrainian factories join France's Alstom in building 55 locomotives for Ukraine. Manufacturers from seven Ukrainian oblasts have been selected by France's Alstom to produce components for 55 UA8AC freight locomotives.

Humanitarian and social impact

Glide bomb kills one in Shostka apartment block as Russia batters Ukrainian cities—newborn among five wounded in Kharkiv. Russia struck across at least five oblasts overnight using ballistic missiles, guided aerial bombs, and strike drones—its second consecutive night of heavy attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Political and legal developments

Another Russian national off the US sanctions list — this time a former finance minister who ran Russia's third-largest bank. Mikhail Zadornov, sanctioned in 2022 for heading Otkritie Bank, successfully petitioned OFAC for removal. The US Treasury insists it reflects no broader policy change, but the delisting follows similar moves in late March.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusive

As Hungary blocks Ukraine's €90 billion, the EU quietly splits into two tiers—one for 27 members, one for 26. The €90 billion standoff may be the moment the multi-speed Europe that Brussels has avoided becomes unavoidable.

50% profit tax, no dividends, no new licenses—Eastern European fintechs are buying Ukrainian banks anyway. Eastern European fintechs are betting on Ukraine's reconstruction while the war continues.

Sweden to send Tridon anti-air cannon to Ukraine to gain valuable experience for its drone defense. Sweden introducing mobile air defense doctrine focused on anti-drone capabilities.

Occupied Donetsk's drinking water crisis is so bad that Russia is now proposing heavy-metal-laced mine drainage as a substitute. Ukraine linked the pattern explicitly to officials' interest in maintaining their posts and access to financial flows from Moscow, rather than solving the underlying crisis.

Why is a French sugar giant—with a former president on payroll—still supplying Russian military?. Its Russian subsidiaries made camouflage nets and anti-drone equipment—while a former French president is on the payroll.

Russia's 2026 war plan had two objectives. Ukraine is wrecking both.. With nine months left in 2026, the Kremlin has its sights set on two main objectives in the east and south. Neither is easy.

Russia's Rubicon center claims it ramped up kill rate of Ukrainian forces in March.

As Russia breaks air attack record, Ukraine's interception rate climbs to 90%. Defense Ministry credits new air defense systems and further development of proven ones.

Military

Russia's 14th general killed since war began. His An-26 may have been shot down by Russia's own air defense. He was the commander of the Northern Fleet's mixed aviation corps.

Russia paid 206 troops for every Ukrainian square kilometer gained in March. Last summer it paid 61 — expert. Russia lost 31,960 troops in March for 155 square kilometers.

Russia claims full capture of Luhansk Oblast for the third time — Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade notes it's still holding the line there. ISW confirms Ukrainian forces control the last 0.16% of the oblast, including the settlements of Nadiya and Novoyehorivka, which Russia's military grouping Zapad claimed to have "liberated" on 1 April.

The hottest point on 1,200 km of front — and Ukraine just held it for another week, top commander says. Four brigades repelled 291 Russian attacks across multiple sub-sectors of the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad area, prompting a personal visit from the commander-in-chief.

March from hell: Ukraine hits 10 refineries, 12 air defense systems, 5 Russian factories, halting missile chip supply for 6 months (MAP). Ukraine hit more strategic Russian targets in March than any previous month.

Ukraine's drones return to Bashneft-Novoil refinery in Ufa 1,300+ km from the front — the primary distillation unit is burning again. Without the AVT unit, which performs the first stage of crude processing, the rest of the refinery cannot operate.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine ramps up engineering mines and UAV ammo—Q1 2026 already surpasses 50% of 2025 supply. Minister Mykhailo Fedorov: "Military needs these items in large quantities, so we continue to scale up supply."

Ukraine just doubled rewards for eliminating Russian drone operators — exchangeable for EW equipment and robotics. Remove the operator before the drone launches, and the weapon never flies. Ukraine has decided that logic is worth paying double for.

International

"The last thread that keeps us anchored in a toxic, bitter past" — Moldova's parliament votes to leave the post-Soviet CIS bloc. Parliament backed the denunciation of the founding agreements 60 to 17 on 2 April, with Communists and Socialists the only bloc voting against.

Political and legal developments

Kremlin: Russia is forming new military units for "everyone," including students. Reports say university rectors were told to push 2% of students into the army: up to 76,000 soldiers.

Humanitarian and social impact

Occupied Donetsk's drinking water crisis is so bad that Russia is now proposing heavy-metal-laced mine drainage as a substitute. Ukraine linked the pattern explicitly to officials' interest in maintaining their posts and access to financial flows from Moscow, rather than solving the underlying crisis.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Russia's Rubicon center claims it ramped up kill rate of Ukrainian forces in March.

As Russia breaks air attack record, Ukraine's interception rate climbs to 90%. Defense Ministry credits new air defense systems and further development of proven ones

Support for Ukraine is 'turning critical, badly'—the warning comes from its most committed corner. Even Estonian MEPs are saying it now. That changes something.

Ukraine files extradition request with Israel for Midas suspects—outcome far from certain. Both suspects are Israeli citizens. Israel almost never extradites its own.

UAE says it would join Hormuz fight as Iran fires 2,500 missiles at Dubai. A country that was mediating between Washington and Tehran as recently as February is now lobbying for a military coalition to seize Iranian-held islands and clear the Strait of Hormuz by force — a strategic about-face driven by nearly 2,500 Iranian missiles and drones that have hit Dubai's airports, hotels, and airline routes.

Szijjártó told Russia's deputy minister he'd removed 72 entities from EU sanctions — then asked Moscow to write his arguments for removing more. The detail, buried in leaked transcripts from a call with Russia's deputy energy minister, reveals the full scope of Hungary's collusion: not just delisting oligarchs on request, but seeking Kremlin-authored justifications for Budapest's own EU lobbying.

Most drone-armored tanks can't fire their guns. Ukraine just fixed that on an Abrams. The Ukrainian 1st Assault Regiment is readying its ex-Australian M-1 tanks for assaults through Russia's drone kill zone.

Ukraine fired its NATO trainers. The alliance is running out of time to learn why. Ten Ukrainians eliminated two allied battalions in a day. The frigate crew never saw the attack coming.

8th Corps pioneers "Uber" for strikes — Russians once had three days to flee, now they have "minutes to pray". "The principle is as simple as an online taxi service: we see a 'client' — we assign the nearest available 'car' — we get the enemy a ride to the afterlife."

Military

Ukraine crushes Moscow's largest assault of 2026 on Donetsk fortress belt that held back Russians since 2014.

Russia lost two military aircraft in one day — an An-26 military transport killing all 29 aboard and an unconfirmed Su-34 fighter-bomber. The An-26 crashed into a cliff in occupied Bakhchisarai's mountains killing all aboard; the same day's Su-34 loss was reported only by Russian bloggers.

Russian advance is slowing — and ISW's numbers prove the Kremlin's demands on Donetsk have no basis on the battlefield. ISW found Russian forces seized 29% less territory in the six months to March 2026 than in the same period a year earlier, advancing at 10.66 km² per day versus 14.9 — a pace that makes Russia's two-month ultimatum on Donetsk Oblast a cognitive warfare tool, not a military reality.

Brilliant ambush plan: Ukrainian troops impress experienced NATO instructors with superior "tactical imagination". Six hours to plan an ambush — and they produced the most brilliant plan he'd ever seen.

Intelligence and technology

US is tripling Patriot heads production under Boeing deal. Ukraine needs missiles to stop Russian ballistics. Washington also reportedly told allies PAC-3 missiles may be diverted from Ukraine to Iran.

This is Moscow's parallel war: Russian intelligence orders spying on German drone supplier for Ukraine — Spiegel. GRU recruited a Ukrainian refugee in Germany via Telegram. His target: a Bavarian businessman supplying drones to Ukraine.

Rheinmetall's contract for Ukraine stalls — FV-014 Raider loitering munition's price has been revealed. Rheinmetall's FV-014 Raider has been combat-tested in Ukraine. 200 are ready for delivery.

Ukraine's $1,200 drone is getting an upgrade: swarm mode. Ukraine is working to give its low-cost interceptor drones — which can cost as little as $1,200 — the ability to operate in swarms, as Kyiv looks to scale up air defenses against Russian attacks that last week included nearly 1,000 drones in a single day.

Ukraine's drone forces chief Madyar reinforced SBS command with two Hero of Ukraine battlefield commanders. Ukraine's drone forces have two new senior commanders whose stated task includes closing the Drone Line continuously along the entire contact line, according to SBS chief Robert "Madyar" Brovdi.

Russia is ordering companies to nominate employees for military service — 2 to 5 names depending on size. Enlistment rates falling in major cities. Despite incentives, army struggles to replenish.

International

700,000 barrels of Russian oil arrived in Cuba: Kremlin keeps island's lights, as its mercenaries bolster war ranks. A Russian tanker on a US sanctions list docked at Cuba's largest fuel terminal on 31 March with 700,000 barrels of oil—the first major delivery since Washington imposed an energy blockade on the island early in 2026.

Humanitarian and social impact

BREAKING: Russia attacks Ukrainian regions bordering Poland and Hungary with nearly 650 drones. One week after killing a father and daughter outside a maternity hospital, Russia is striking western Ukraine again — up to NATO's border.

Russia broke his heart — literally. Ukrainian doctors gave him a new one, just in time for his 45th birthday. The story of Yurii Mykytenchuk, a Ukrainian soldier whose heart was destroyed in Russian captivity, and the Kyiv transplant team that saved him.

Ukraine names seven archaeologists Russia sent to steal treasures from occupied Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea. They had Kremlin-issued permits to be involved in the looting of Ukrainian cultural heritage.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine files extradition request with Israel for Midas suspects—outcome far from certain. Both suspects are Israeli citizens. Israel almost never extradites its own.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Most drone-armored tanks can’t fire their guns. Ukraine just fixed that on an Abrams.. The Ukrainian 1st Assault Regiment is readying its ex-Australian M-1 tanks for assaults through Russia's drone kill zone.

Ukraine fired its NATO trainers. The alliance is running out of time to learn why.. Ten Ukrainians eliminated two allied battalions in a day. The frigate crew never saw the attack coming.

8th Corps pioneers “Uber” for strikes — Russians once had three days to flee, now they have “minutes to pray”. "The principle is as simple as an online taxi service: we see a ‘client’ — we assign the nearest available ‘car’ — we get the enemy a ride to the afterlife."

Are Russian Shaheds mounting radar-hunting modules?. "Theoretically, it can autonomously guide the UAV to active radio sources, including radar.”

Russia sentenced a Ukrainian journalist to 13 years for a beet juice protest — in absentia. Now it wants her arrested abroad, and Ukraine’s NGOs say it won’t stop there. Twenty-one Ukrainian media outlets and NGOs, including Euromaidan Press, signed a joint condemnation warning that Zemlyana's case is a template Russia will use against Ukrainian journalists and media workers documenting war crimes and exposing the aggressor.

Kremlin-linked analysts confirm Russia’s freight collapse is structural—not a seasonal dip. Russia’s railways show a civilian economy at its weakest since 2009.

Russia putting decoy missiles on Shaheds to distract defenders from real ones. "We need to think about how we can distinguish Shaheds with fake missiles."

Inside the EU parliament: the bloc Ukraine wants to join is already fracturing. A Baltic MEP on Hungary’s veto, Europe's war fatigue, and why the bloc Ukraine wants to join is already splitting apart.

She disappears as a person. Ukraine’s first study of 160,000 mothers of disabled children.. "It breaks my heart. If it breaks yours too, let's think about how we can make a difference in these women's lives together,"—Niya Nikel, report co-author.

Military

Ukraine's 2026 goal: exhaust Russia, deny it breakthroughs, build reserves — top general says Commander-in-chief Syrskyi said Russia's planned 1 March push on 13 simultaneous directions was thwarted, and Ukraine has since liberated 480 km² on the southern axis.

Ukraine's goal: produce every air defense component domestically – including anti-ballistic interceptors Zelenskyy outlined a plan to manufacture all components of Ukraine's air defense domestically, from drone interceptors to anti-ballistic missiles — the layer where Ukraine remains dependent on Washington.

Ust-Luga burning again: Ukraine is now hitting this Russian oil port every other day — the shadow fleet tankers that load here keep waiting offshore Some drones entered Estonia but were not intercepted, with a spokesperson noting that Russia's use of electronic warfare to deflect Ukrainian drones was likely behind the crossings.

How FPV drones saved two Ukrainian POWs: isolate, strike, evacuate The operation in Zaporizhzhia Oblast required coordinating multiple units and using drones to establish control of the situation before any direct strike could be authorized.

Kyiv's experimental project turns businesses into Russian drone killers — Zala already taken out Private units linked to Unified Air Force Command with full integration into national defense.

Intelligence and technology

US copies Ukraine: Washington launches Amazon-backed UAVs marketplace, inspired by Kyiv's Brave1 Market and DOT-Chain Defense It compares specs, analyzes feedback, simplifies ordering.

Ukrainians voted on name for national AI during war — Watermelon, Core, and Word lost The country aims to lead the world in AI by 2030.

International

The drones that crossed into Finland weren't lost. Ukraine says Russia redirected them there on purpose. Ukraine's foreign minister said intelligence data confirms the incidents are deliberate Russian provocations, not navigation failures.

EU presses ahead to unlock €90 billion for Ukraine and new Russia sanctions – but Kallas says "no good news" yet Hungary's veto of the loan and 20th sanctions package, in place since February, remains unresolved — with the European Council's June summit now the next realistic window.

A Ukrainian drone crashed in Finland. Helsinki won't ask Kyiv to stop. Foreign Minister Valtonen says Ukraine has the right to choose its own targets inside Russia — even after the incident.

Netanyahu keeps balancing between Russia and Ukraine, even as Moscow arms Iran, Zelenskyy says Netanyahu balances Russia and Ukraine while Moscow briefs Tehran on American military positions, Zelenskyy tells Axios.

Iran sent Russia weapons to kill Ukrainians. Now it's complaining to the UN that Ukraine is teaching their targets to shoot back Tehran's letter to the UN accused Kyiv of "material and operational support" for the US-Israeli war — omitting that Iran itself has armed Moscow's war against Ukrainian civilians for four years.

Bulgaria's acting PM just outran the pro-Russian president — 10-year treaty signed with Ukraine, SAFE-funded joint weapons production agreed, PURL commitment made Zelenskyy said Bulgaria's PURL accession will strengthen Ukrainian air defense ahead of the next heating season.

Iran believes Ukraine is involved in US and Israeli aggression against Tehran after sending thousands of civilian terror drones to Moscow Iran has deployed thousands of Shahed UAVs since 2022, turning Ukrainian civilians into targets.

Latvia sent €6.8 million to Ukraine's Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts, bordering Russia Chernihiv Oblast is the only region in Ukraine that borders both Russia and Belarus.

Humanitarian and social impact

Moscow Patriarchate monk in Ukraine lured underage girls with sweets, gave them alcohol so they couldn't resist Moscow Patriarchate clergy in Kharkiv charged with sexual crimes.

Political and legal developments

Russia gives Ukraine two months to leave Donbas, Zelenskyy says. It has been trying to take the region by force since 2022. Ukraine's president said he is "surprised" anyone believes giving up the east will stop the war.

Kyiv offered Easter ceasefire. Moscow dismissed it. ISW says don't be surprised. ISW assesses Ukraine continues to demonstrate genuine readiness to negotiate, while Russia's response indicates it remains unwilling to engage in good faith.

No flag. Russian oil. Two intelligence operatives on board. Now its captain faces prison. A French court sentenced Chen Zhangjie, who commanded the sanctioned tanker Boracay, to one year in prison after he refused to let France's navy inspect the vessel last September.

Read the daily review for Mon 30 March 2026 here.

Exclusives

First study of Ukraine's 160,000 mothers of disabled children finds 15% contemplated self-harm. 70% get zero hours of respite.. "It breaks my heart. If it breaks yours too, let's think about how we can make a difference in these women's lives together,"—Niya Nikel, report co-author.

Ukraine signs 'historic' 10-year defense deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar. Agreement signed amid Iran blasting Gulf countries' bases, energy assets

Ukraine runs out of war funding in June—blocked from outside, inside, and below. Hungary is blocking billions from outside. Parliament from inside. And the government tried to fire the anti-corruption official the EU requires to stay.

Ukraine's last friend in the Trump regime just walked away. Marco Rubio was supposed to be the exception—the adult in the room who understood how dangerous Putin is. But Marco has changed his mind. Ukraine and Europe should take note—because the guardrails are gone.

Russia's enormous "giga turtle" tank covered in chains, spines, and mine rollers just attacked Kostiantynivka at 10 km/hr. Persisting in their efforts to capture Kostiantynivka, the Russians rolled out their biggest, heaviest and slowest assault vehicles.

Russia put a hula hoop on its attack drone. Now it flies 50 km into Ukraine's rear.. A bulky plastic ring is one key to deeper Russian drone strikes targeting Ukraine's vulnerable logistics.

Military

Russia's spring offensive has stalled at Ukraine's Fortress Belt — ISW says it won't break through in 2026. The 3rd Combined Arms Army, the only Russian force positioned to push directly on Sloviansk, hasn't gained ground in a week after a month of tactically significant advances east of the city.

Ukrainian drones hit a shell casing factory in occupied Alchevsk — Russia's air defense was nowhere to be seen. The same night, Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Taganrog in "the worst attack" on the city since the war began, a chemical plant in Tolyatti, and targeted Krasnodar.

Intelligence and technology

US copies Ukraine: Washington launches Amazon-backed UAVs marketplace, inspired by Kyiv's Brave1 Market and DOT-Chain Defense. It compares specs, analyzes feedback, simplifies ordering.

Kyiv's experimental project turns businesses into Russian drone killers — Zala already taken out. Private units linked to Unified Air Force Command with the full integration into national defense.

Ukraine may award drone-purchase points when Russian soldiers kill themselves under drone pressure. The Brave1 Market system lets drone units trade eBaly points for drones, electronic warfare gear, and components.

Ukraine's "Raid" Regiment destroys Russian Starlink alternative. Russia relies on alternative networks after losing Starlink access.

Ukraine can help unblock Strait of Hormuz — Kyiv negotiates naval drone with Arab countries after Black Sea success. Zelenskyy emphasizes that Kyiv can provide both tactical know-how and operational support.

Fourth suspect arrested in arson attack on Czech factory that made drones and thermal optics for Ukraine. Czech police say more suspects are expected. Those three detained earlier face terrorism charges. The "anti-Israel" group that claimed responsibility created its accounts one day before the attack — and the factory had no Israeli ties.

Ukrainians voted on name for national AI during war — Watermelon, Core, and Word lost. The country aims to lead the world in AI by 2030.

International

Bulgaria's acting PM just outran the pro-Russian president — 10-year treaty signed with Ukraine, SAFE-funded joint weapons production agreed, PURL commitment made. Zelenskyy said Bulgaria's PURL accession will strengthen Ukrainian air defense ahead of the next heating season.

Iran believes Ukraine is involved in US and Israeli aggression against Tehran after sending thousands of civilian terror drones to Moscow. Iran has deployed thousands of Shahed UAVs since 2022, turning Ukrainian civilians into targets.

Latvia sent €6.8 million to Ukraine's Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts, bordering Russia. Chernihiv Oblast is the only region in Ukraine that borders both Russia and Belarus.

Ukraine signs 'historic' 10-year defense deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar. Agreement signed amid Iran blasting Gulf countries' bases, energy assets.

Humanitarian and social impact

First study of Ukraine's 160,000 mothers of disabled children finds 15% contemplated self-harm. 70% get zero hours of respite. "It breaks my heart. If it breaks yours too, let's think about how we can make a difference in these women's lives together,"—Niya Nikel, report co-author.

Moscow Patriarchate monk in Ukraine lured underage girls with sweets, gave them alcohol so they couldn't resist. Moscow Patriarchate clergy in Kharkiv charged with sexual crimes.

One court, ten judges, twenty thousand cases — and a single war crimes verdict in three years. Ukraine has recorded more than 217,000 war crimes since Russia's full-scale invasion, but its courts have delivered just 245 verdicts — 23 of them with the defendant physically present.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine runs out of war funding in June—blocked from outside, inside, and below. Hungary is blocking billions from outside. Parliament from inside. And the government tried to fire the anti-corruption official the EU requires to stay.

Ukraine's last friend in the Trump regime just walked away. Marco Rubio was supposed to be the exception—the adult in the room who understood how dangerous Putin is. But Marco has changed his mind. Ukraine and Europe should take note—because the guardrails are gone.

Ukraine's intelligence names 51 ships fueling Russia's war economy through oil exports and occupied port runs. Oil tankers, stolen grain, occupied ports: Ukraine's military intelligence has expanded its maritime blacklist to 51 vessels, and is now addressing ship captains directly, warning that liability for participating in Russia's operations "is inevitable."

Read our earlier daily review here.

"The doctor said 'Your child will never be normal,' and that was the end of the conversation. I left the office totally shocked, not knowing what I should do next."

That mother is one of 609 surveyed for Strong Moms, the first comprehensive study of Ukrainian mothers of children with disabilities, released on 25 March by the NGO Epiprosvita foundation. Nobody had studied this demographic before. The findings explain why.

Ukraine has roughly 160,000 children with disabilities and no working system to help them or their families. That means 160,000 mothers are full-time carers—often with no respite, money, partner, educational, or social support. 15% contemplated self-harm or suicide within the last two weeks. 70% get zero hours away from caregiving. Zero. 45% have moderate or severe anxiety, 40% have symptoms of depression, and over half are burned out to the brink of exhaustion.

"The findings are heartbreaking. The situation is very, very dire," said Niya Nikel, mother to disabled 7-year-old Eva and one of the report's authors.

The study arrives as Ukraine has informally opened all six clusters of EU accession negotiations—a process that explicitly requires reforms in deinstitutionalization, disability assessment, and an inclusive labor market. Being part of the EU means not making mothers of children with disabilities choose between survival and despair.

Caring for disabled family members has never been easy anywhere. A 2024 study in England found that 41% of parent carers have thought about suicide—but that was throughout the entire period of caretaking. Ukraine's 15% is the past two weeks alone.

Explore further

Contents

• Ukraine to integrate 5-6 million veterans into “all spheres of life” after war
  1. She disappears as a person
  2. Institutionalization stopped, the social system didn't start
     • Kyiv bakery employs people with mental disabilities
  3. A laptop, a nanny, and 6 hours of respite
  4. Loneliness at the core of it all
     • Grassroot efforts attempt to budge Ukraine’s Soviet attitude to disability

Ukraine to integrate 5-6 million veterans into “all spheres of life” after war

She disappears as a person

55% of the mothers surveyed hold university degrees. Most are aged 30-45—peak labor activity. They should be working, building careers, contributing to an economy that desperately needs them. Instead, they disappear.

35% are single—both breadwinner and caretaker at once. Fathers leaving after the diagnosis, economic pressure, and domestic abuse account for most divorces. But even when the father stays, he can replace the mother as caretaker in only half the cases. Most families live below the poverty line, on under $450 a month, juggling full-time care with irregular wages. The state covers only 20% of medical costs.

40% of the families, already struggling, have been displaced by Russia's invasion, losing connections, housing, medical services, and work opportunities. 25% go weeks without speaking to another person. 40% receive no or little emotional support.

The woman herself disappears, and this is a special type of pain, Nataliya Dashuk, a mother of a child with disabilities, wrote.

"When many factors converge on a single person—the birth, the diagnosis, the uncertainty about what to do next, and the departure of a husband who didn't expect that day and night would no longer be as he had dreamed—and society's rejection of children who don't fit into the bigger picture—a woman doesn't just get tired; she disappears.

She disappears as a person, remaining only a caregiver within four walls. The loneliness becomes so thick you can almost touch it."

Institutionalization stopped, the social system didn't start

The Soviet system of confining children deemed less than normal in specialized institutions—often a euphemism for slow withering and death, walled off from society—is changing. Ukraine aimed to phase out institutions by 2026 for the more humane option of raising children within their families. But progress had stalled—and $127.5 million meant for accessible housing was spent rebuilding institutions instead.

The social infrastructure is following at a snail's pace. Of the $3.3 billion allocated for disability support in 2023, 53% went to pensions. Just 0.1% supported rehabilitation, employment, and social inclusion. The system pays people to exist with disabilities, not to live with them.

A plan for making education inclusive launched in 2017. Yet roughly 90% of children with special education needs were outside the inclusive system, and the war has pushed more families into isolation, not less. Home-based care, daycare, supported living, transport, and sign language interpretation are available in theory. In practice, they depend on local budgets—which basically means they don't exist.

The gap between what exists on paper and reality is where 160,000 Ukrainian mothers live.

And that gap is measurable in the doctor's office. Mothers who rated their doctor interactions at 1-2 out of 5 showed significantly worse stress, anxiety, and depression scores across every scale the study measured. Medical communication isn't just bad bedside manner—it's a health hazard.

Explore further

Kyiv bakery employs people with mental disabilities

A laptop, a nanny, and 6 hours of respite

Having a child with disabilities need not entail the mother sacrificing her life. Expand day care services, create flexible work opportunities, and provide even 10-15 hours of respite per week—and many mothers could start training or working. UNICEF recommends it. The EU demands it as part of Ukraine's path to accession.

But the system actively punishes those who try. Under current rules, mothers risk losing disability-related payments when they take official employment. The study documented cases where a family's total income barely changed—or even dropped—after the mother started working. Official work becomes financially irrational. The study recommends replacing this cliff-edge cutoff with progressive reduction, so benefits decrease gradually as income rises instead of vanishing overnight.

A laptop, mentor, flexible schedule, and a respite nanny for 3-6 free hours a week would help most start training or working. But the digital infrastructure compounds every other problem: 40% of mothers report power outages four or more times per week, and 30% lack a proper device for remote work.

Most of all, what would help is feeling that they are not alone. One case manager can make all the difference. Alyona Deriabina's child got support from an Early Intervention Center, which offered a neurologist, massage, and physical therapy. "We talk on the phone every week. She helps a lot with development and goals, and best of all—she supports me. If every family had a case manager like this—it would be so helpful."

Loneliness at the core of it all

The contrast between what European countries offer and Ukraine's reality "hurts beyond belief," said Iryna Pypych, who left abroad with the start of Russia's full-scale war for the sake of her younger son with disabilities.

"I see what exists here, and am devastated by what we have [in Ukraine]. At home, we're surviving. I haven't thought about self-harm because I have my older son, but [isolation and extreme anxiety] are about me. I don't know what to do to at least bring us a little closer to the level of other countries. Mothers have neither the strength nor the resources for this. All of this can only be resolved at the state level, which seems completely unrealistic to me in Ukraine."

Women of old had a village to help raise their child. The mothers of children with disabilities today have isolation, anxiety, and, often, condemnation. The loneliness is a special type of hell, Tetianka Shcherbyna commented.

"So many moms—and I'm one of them—are forced to raise their children on their own. Or there's a husband around, but instead of support, there's only blame and pressure. This is emotionally draining and saps the last of one's strength."

Nobody is insured against having a child with disabilities. But Ukraine could insure its mothers against facing the odds alone. The legislation is there, and so is the EU pressure. What is absent is the funds, political will, and, often, simple compassion.

Explore further

Grassroot efforts attempt to budge Ukraine’s Soviet attitude to disability

Exclusives

Russia’s enormous “giga turtle” tank covered in chains, spines, and mine rollers just attacked Kostiantynivka at 10 km/hr. Persisting in their efforts to capture Kostiantynivka, the Russians rolled out their biggest, heaviest and slowest assault vehicles.

Russia put a hula hoop on its attack drone. Now it flies 50 km into Ukraine’s rear.. A bulky plastic ring is one key to deeper Russian drone strikes targeting Ukraine's vulnerable logistics.

Ukraine isn’t just burning Russia’s oil — it’s going after two refineries that keep Russian tanks moving and bombers flying. Energy analyst Mykhailo Honchar writes for EP that KINEF and YANOS are Russia's leading producers of specialized military oils and greases without which armored vehicles, helicopters, and missile systems cannot function.

Poland and Estonia are building Shahed killer Mark I at sustainable cost. Inspiration came from Kyiv. Shooting down a $20,000 Shahed with a $3 million Patriot is unsustainable.

Rubio raised his voice at EU foreign policy chief — then denied anything happened. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to "step back" and handle Russia diplomacy herself after she pressed him over Washington's failure to increase pressure on Moscow at a G7 ministerial in France, Axios reported

Ukraine hits Ust-Luga and Primorsk for the third time in five days — the pace suggests Kyiv is trying to destroy Russia’s Baltic oil export ports beyond repair. NASA satellite data confirmed new fires at both ports; together they handle 2 million barrels of Russian crude exports daily. A drone also struck Severstal's blast furnace in Cherepovets in the same night.

Russian shadow war is escalating. NATO railways and sea cables are in the crosshairs.. Military supply chain hubs are especially vulnerable to deniable attacks

Military

Ukraine absorbed 3,000 drone strikes in seven days. Zelenskyy is asking the world to notice. The president calls for joint weapons production and shared defense systems, arguing that what's hitting Kyiv is the same arsenal hitting the Gulf.

Ust-Luga on fire again: Drone strikes keep Russia's Baltic oil ports burning as Ukraine targets war revenues at source. Drone strikes have now hit Ust-Luga multiple times in days, targeting revenues that stand to grow as global prices rise amid the Iran war.

Ukraine struck Russian explosives factory 1,000 kilometers from front with Flamingo cruise missile it built itself. The Chapayevsk plant supplied explosive fill for Russian munitions.

Ukraine strikes Yaroslavl key fuel hub for Russian army, targeting its 15 million-ton annual capacity. War moves beyond the frontline.

Ukraine destroys Russia's anti-drone radar system in Crimea, confirms damage of Kirishi refinery. The Ukrainian General Staff also reported more strikes on the occupied peninsula and in the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast.

Latvia is sending new CVR(T) armored vehicles with 7.62 mm machine gun and 510 km range. One variant is an armored ambulance that evacuates wounded where no wheeled vehicle can follow.

UK just gave Ukraine's air defense £100 million superboost. It has brought total British air defense commitments over the past two months to £600 million.

Ukraine's interceptor drones set record. Last year, this number would have meant catastrophe. During the 24 March attack, Ukrainian forces destroyed more than 94% of 999 incoming drones.

Intelligence and technology

Pro-Ukrainian partisans open drone corridors through Russia by burning the towers that block them, Atesh claims. The Novgorod sabotage on 17 March is the latest example of Atesh coordinating ground operations with Ukrainian drone strikes to neutralize EW cover allowing aircraft to hit their targets.

Russian satellites imaged US Diego Garcia, Prince Sultan Air Base, Al-Udeid, and Incirlik — days before Iranian strikes, Zelenskyy says. Speaking in Qatar, President Zelenskyy shared intelligence from his morning briefing.

Ukraine is developing STRILA-2 with solid-fuel rocket booster based on German Jäger tech. Germany funded 15,000 STRILAs. Now it is investing in STRILA-2 with a rocket booster, AI guidance.

International

Zelenskyy meets Jordan's king to discuss security partnership — the same Shaheds that hit Kyiv are now hitting Amman's neighbors. Ukraine has 200-plus specialists already deployed across the Gulf; the Jordan visit is the latest stop in a regional campaign to turn battlefield experience into defense partnerships.

Finland confirms Ukrainian drone in its airspace as Kyiv's Baltic strike campaign pushes deeper north — Helsinki on alert. Fighter jets tracked the drone but stood down over collateral-damage concerns — and at least one more device is believed to have crashed.

"Nothing has been redirected": Ukraine's top diplomat pushes back on fears that Middle East war is eating its weapons. Sybiha raised the diversion question in front of other G7 partners in France — and the answer was unequivocal.

Zelenskyy in Abu Dhabi: teams to finalize details on defense deal after UAE talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed on security and defense cooperation with the UAE after meeting President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with Ukrainian military specialists already deployed in the country for several weeks ahead of the visit.

Finland to audit whether US is actually delivering NATO-bought weapons to Ukraine. "What has been promised to Ukraine must reach Ukraine" — Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen, announcing that Helsinki will audit US compliance with contracts under which European NATO members purchased weapons for Ukraine from American suppliers.

US warns allies: Patriots could be interrupted for Ukraine, as supplies could shift to Iran war. Three European officials confirmed the warning.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian Shahed drones struck maternity hospital in Ukraine's Odesa. 80 people were inside facility at time of attack. Ten people were injured in the attack.

Ukrainians opened record number of businesses in this European country. Nearest competitor managed 2,000. Ukrainians repeated their 2024 record across sectors from gastronomy and logistics to IT, as their homeland faces war.

Political and legal developments

Warsaw just made it legal to fight for Kyiv. It used to carry five years in Polish prison.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusive

Ukraine isn't just burning Russia's oil — it's going after two refineries that keep Russian tanks moving and bombers flying. Energy analyst Mykhailo Honchar writes for EP that KINEF and YANOS are Russia's leading producers of specialized military oils and greases, without which armored vehicles, helicopters, and missile systems cannot function.

Rubio raised his voice at EU foreign policy chief — then denied anything happened. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to "step back" and handle Russia diplomacy herself after she pressed him over Washington's failure to increase pressure on Moscow at a G7 ministerial in France, Axios reported.

Ukraine hits Ust-Luga and Primorsk for the third time in five days — the pace suggests Kyiv is trying to destroy Russia's Baltic oil export ports beyond repair. NASA satellite data confirmed new fires at both ports; together they handle 2 million barrels of Russian crude exports daily. A drone also struck Severstal's blast furnace in Cherepovets on the same night.

Russian shadow war is escalating. NATO railways and sea cables are in the crosshairs.. Military supply chain hubs are especially vulnerable to deniable attacks.

Why is Russia asking its billionaires to fund a war its $190 billion defense budget should cover?. Kerimov pledged $1.2 billion. The Kremlin called it spontaneous.

EU fertilizer imports from Russia are up 14%. PepsiCo opened a Russian factory. The chips are still flowing. After five years of sanctions, new data shows Europe's ledger still tilts toward Moscow.

Military

Ukraine strikes Yaroslavl key fuel hub for Russian army, targeting its 15 million-ton annual capacity. War moves beyond the frontline.

Intelligence and technology

Poland and Estonia are building Shahed killer Mark I at sustainable cost. Inspiration came from Kyiv. Shooting down a $20,000 Shahed with a $3 million Patriot is unsustainable.

Ukraine struck Russian explosives factory 1,000 kilometers from front with Flamingo cruise missile it built itself. The Chapayevsk plant supplied explosive fill for Russian munitions.

Russian satellites imaged US Diego Garcia, Prince Sultan Air Base, Al-Udeid, and Incirlik — days before Iranian strikes, says Zelenskyy. Speaking in Qatar, President Zelenskyy shared intelligence from his morning briefing.

International

Zelenskyy in Abu Dhabi: teams to finalize details on defense deal after UAE talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed on security and defense cooperation with the UAE after meeting President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with Ukrainian military specialists already deployed in the country for several weeks ahead of the visit.

Finland to audit whether US is actually delivering NATO-bought weapons to Ukraine. "What has been promised to Ukraine must reach Ukraine" — Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen, announcing that Helsinki will audit US compliance with contracts under which European NATO members purchased weapons for Ukraine from American suppliers.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian Shahed drones struck maternity hospital in Ukraine's Odesa. 80 people were inside facility at time of attack. Ten people were injured in the attack.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Ukraine hits Ust-Luga and Primorsk for the third time in five days — the pace suggests Kyiv is trying to destroy Russia's Baltic oil export ports beyond repair. NASA satellite data confirmed new fires at both ports; together, they handle 2 million barrels of Russian crude exports daily. A drone also struck Severstal's blast furnace in Cherepovets on the same night.

Russian shadow war is escalating. NATO railways and sea cables are in the crosshairs.. Military supply chain hubs are especially vulnerable to deniable attacks

Why is Russia asking its billionaires to fund a war its $190 billion defense budget should cover?. Kerimov pledged $1.2 billion. The Kremlin called it spontaneous.

EU fertilizer imports from Russia are up 14%. PepsiCo opened a Russian factory. The chips are still flowing.. After five years of sanctions, new data shows Europe's ledger still tilts toward Moscow.

Russia built the world's only missile-armed icebreaker. A Ukrainian sport plane just crippled it.. The $222 million ship never left the shipyard.

Military

Ukraine destroys Russia's anti-drone radar system in Crimea, confirms damage of Kirishi refinery. The Ukrainian General Staff also reported more strikes on the occupied peninsula and in the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast.

Estonian intelligence: Ukraine's port strikes halt route carrying 40–50% of Russia's oil exports. Estonia's intel chief: Russia lost 11,000 troops in a week, gained nothing, and just lost its main oil export route.

The south in flames of great war: Ukrainian army reclaims 470 square kilometers of land in bloody confrontation. Russian forces launch record drone attacks that analysts say are designed to distract from catastrophic losses and a failing spring offensive.

Ukraine's paratroopers clear Berezove in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, completing near-total reversal of Russia's 2025 gains in the region. A senior Ukrainian general said in early March only five small villages still needed clearing across the entire oblast — Berezove was among them.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet fires at Ukraine once or twice a month and otherwise does nothing — now Moscow is trying to copy the drones that trapped it. A Ukrainian navy spokesman called Russia's fleet a "black hole" that barely functions, adding Russia is now developing naval drones in response to Ukraine's dominance.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine is developing STRILA-2 with solid-fuel rocket booster based on German Jäger tech. Germany funded 15,000 STRILAs. Now it is investing in STRILA-2 with a rocket booster, AI guidance.

Ukraine's interceptor drones set record. Last year, this number would have meant catastrophe. During the 24 March attack, Ukrainian forces destroyed more than 94% of 999 incoming drones.

Latvia is sending new CVR(T) armored vehicles with 7.62 mm machine gun and 510 km range. One variant is an armored ambulance that evacuates wounded where no wheeled vehicle can follow.

Ukraine sent air defense experts to Saudi Arabia. They delivered results in a week. Ukraine has four years of real combat experience intercepting over 57,000 Iranian-designed drones.

Trump on Ukraine weapons diversion: "We do this all the time" — but NATO says PURL deliveries stay on track. The Washington Post reported earlier that air defense interceptor missiles procured for Ukraine under the $4 billion PURL mechanism could be redirected to the Middle East to replenish US stockpiles drawn down by the war in Iran.

International

US warns allies: Patriots could be interrupted for Ukraine, as supplies could shift to Iran war. Three European officials confirmed the warning.

UK just gave Ukraine's air defense £100 million superboost. It has brought total British air defense commitments over the past two months to £600 million.

Ukraine signs defense pact with Saudi Arabia after its experts spent week finding holes in region's air defenses. Ukraine offers combat-tested expertise in countering Iranian-designed drones, developed over four years and 58,000 intercepted drone attacks.

Bloomberg: Ukraine to sign air defense cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia. Zelenskyy arrives in Riyadh for unannounced Gulf tour; Kyiv offers drone interception expertise for US missile supplies.

Warsaw just made it legal to fight for Kyiv. It used to carry five years in Polish prison.

Heraskevych addresses UN panel after IOC banned his tribute helmet at Milan Cortina. The International Olympic Committee blocked Vladyslav Heraskevych from racing at Milan Cortina over a tribute helmet. On Thursday, the UN gave him a stage and his audience gave the helmet's names a standing ovation.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia hits Kharkiv apartment block twice in one hour — rocket first, then shahed. Russian forces hit the same Kharkiv district twice within roughly 35 minutes on 27 March — a rocket strike on a nine-story block followed by a drone — while a separate UAV strike damaged a high-rise facade in Zaporizhzhia the same evening without reported casualties.

Ukraine eyes Easter prisoner swap as Budanov says negotiations are running daily. Since the full-scale invasion began, Ukraine has brought 8,669 prisoners home from Russia. Kyrylo Budanov wants to add to that number on 12 April — Orthodox Easter — and says everything necessary is being done to make it happen.

Political and legal developments

$10,000 per person: Moldova arrests 11 drivers in Ukrainian male smuggling network. Eleven taxi drivers in Moldova have been detained on suspicion of smuggling roughly 400 Ukrainian men out of the country for fees reaching $10,000 per crossing, Moldova's anti-organised crime prosecutors said.

New developments

Ukrainians opened record number of businesses in this European country. Nearest competitor managed 2,000. Ukrainians repeated their 2024 record across sectors from gastronomy and logistics to IT, as their homeland faces war.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Russia built the world’s only missile-armed icebreaker. A Ukrainian sport plane just crippled it.. The $222 million ship never left the shipyard.

What holds Ukrainian labor market together if not conditions—and how long can it last?. Higher wages aren’t buying loyalty—merely time.

Ukraine barters with Gulf states: Patriot missiles for anti-drone capabilities. Anti-drone experts already deployed to half-dozen countries, but road for weapon transfers yet to be paved

Sanctioned Russian shadow fleet tanker struck by drone near Istanbul, 140,000 tons of oil on board. The ALTURA had transported millions of barrels of Russian crude to India and China before the strike.

Five weapons, 57 days: how Budapest escalated against Ukraine after one Russian drone strike. Kyiv’s Foreign Ministry says gas imports from Hungary haven’t stopped yet—and that Ukraine has contingency plans ready.

Reuters: 40% of Russia’s oil exports offline, mostly due to Ukrainian drone strikes — worst disruption in Russian history. Russia earns roughly a quarter of its state budget from oil and gas. This week's attacks halted oil loadings at both Russian Baltic Sea terminals.

Russia’s unstoppable Mach-6 missile just got killed by a Ukrainian drone. After peeling back Russian air defenses in Crimea, Ukrainian drone operators are now hunting down Russia's best missiles on the ground.

FPV drone strikes in Baghdad expose US vulnerability. Fortifications are no longer enough to guard against cheap, yet persistent threat

Military

Ukrainian drones found six Russian tanks hidden in a Belgorod forest – and destroyed them before they could reach the Kharkiv border Lasar's Group of the National Guard says six tanks and two heavy vehicles were hit in early March in a coordinated drone operation.

Ukraine's Baltic energy blitz: KINEF refinery struck as Kyiv targets Russia's northwestern export corridor The attack on Kirishi follows drone strikes on Ust-Luga and Primorsk in a coordinated campaign against Russia's Baltic energy export infrastructure.

Russia strikes injure 13 people in four oblasts of Ukraine over past day Russian forces wounded 13 people across Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Donetsk oblasts on 25 March, while launching 153 strike drones overnight — 130 of which Ukraine's air defense destroyed.

At ports and railways, first civilian air defense groups will appear in Ukraine Last night Russians killed a civilian on a commuter train in Kharkiv.

Russia's ballistic missiles now change trajectory mid-flight. Europe needs 400% increase in air defense or face defeat Russia reduced the effectiveness of Ukraine's Patriot interceptors, requiring more than one missile per intercept.

Intelligence and technology

Russia is now sending its own drones back to Iran – the weapons it learned to make from Tehran Western intelligence says Moscow began deliveries in early March, marking the first known transfer of Russian lethal aid to Iran since the war began.

Moldova court cases reveal Russia's transnational network to recruit, train and deploy spies and saboteurs The man who recruited Moldovan citizens for drone training camps in the Balkans also organized the painting of Stars of David on Paris buildings in the days after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks.

Putin watched Khamenei get killed. Then disappeared from public view for nine days. Then shut down Moscow's internet Moscow's internet went dark after Khamenei was killed.

International

Germany won't send Taurus missiles to Ukraine – and now Merz says Ukraine doesn't need them anyway Berlin points to Ukraine's domestically produced long-range systems as a reason the issue is no longer live.

"We do that all the time" – Trump says US routinely pulls weapons from Ukraine for other theaters Ukraine has repeatedly warned that reductions in air defense deliveries would directly weaken its ability to hold against Russian strikes.

Zelenskyy lands in Saudi Arabia, taking Ukraine's drone war experience to the Gulf and pitching air defense cooperation across six countries

NATO 2025 Annual Report warns energy infrastructure is primary target in any Russian attack on the Alliance NATO is training to defend power grids after Russia's strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure showed the Alliance what a war against it might look like.

Ukraine struggles to find more NATO donors to pay for US weapons, Bloomberg reports Only a handful of allies are currently funding US arms purchases; Kyiv estimates $15 billion needed in 2026 but received just $4.3 billion for 2025.

Britain moves from sanctions lists to tanker seizures – navy can now board Russia's shadow fleet Around 75% of Russia's crude exports move through the shadow fleet; the UK and allies have sanctioned more than 500 vessels.

Ukraine drafts its first Africa strategy — targeting Maghreb and sub-Saharan states as geopolitical rivals For the first time, Ukraine is moving to "comprehensively influence the situation on the African continent," according to Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov.

US links security guarantees to Ukraine giving up Donbas, Zelenskyy says Ukraine would have to give up all of Donbas before the United States will finalize security guarantees, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Reuters interview.

Orbán threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine. This decision will cost $1 billion for Hungarian voters

Humanitarian and social impact

"You think of only one thing: is your person's name there" — the Mariupol marine who came home after 1,400 days Marine Ruslan Kurtmallaiev defended Mariupol with the 36th Separate Brigade, was held in Russian captivity for nearly four years — over two of them in solitary — and received one letter and one phone call from his family the entire time.

Yale report ties Russian energy giants to kidnapping and military training of Ukrainian children Russian energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft transported and indoctrinated at least 2,158 Ukrainian children at camps in Russia and occupied territories between 2022 and 2025.

Political and legal developments

After four years of war, Ukraine formally tears up its last legal ties to Russia and the CIS Sybiha says 116 agreements are being terminated, denounced, or withdrawn from — a process he calls "complex and systematic."

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusive

Ukraine destroys first Bastion launcher—and two of Russia's 40 hypersonic Zircons. After peeling back Russian air defenses in Crimea, Ukrainian drone operators are now hunting down Russia's best missiles on the ground.

FPV drone strikes in Baghdad expose US vulnerability. Fortifications are no longer enough to guard against a cheap yet persistent threat

Ukrainian grain was stolen, relabeled Russian, and sold to a UN food program supplier—the paperwork said nothing about Mariupol. The same Russian family builds attack drones for Russia's war on Ukraine and exports stolen Ukrainian wheat. Some of it reached a UN food program supplier in Türkiye.

Russia building satellite network to replace Starlink, launches first 16 into orbit. Large-scale deployment still years away, but Russia has all it needs to make it happen

Russia sells its oil while arming the enemy Washington is bombing. Russian oil is moving. Iranian is not. The difference goes straight to Ukraine's front line.

Zaluzhnyi now blames Zelenskyy for the counteroffensive. He wasn't always so sure.. Ukraine's cursed 2023 counteroffensive ran into Europe's largest fortified belt without air cover. The blame game between Kyiv's leaders lets the biggest culprit off the hook.

Denmark outspends everyone on Ukraine. I walked the streets to find out why.. Danes head to the polls on 24 March, but Ukraine barely registers as a campaign issue—because 70% already agree on keeping the world's highest per-capita support going.

Mesh networked "smart mines" under development by Poland, Estonia, Ukraine. Likely to be used along the borders of Russia and its allies

Military

Ukraine built the ground drone playbook. Russia copied it. Now Ukraine is destroying the copies near Vovchansk. This sector in northeastern Ukraine has become a technology duel: Russians are deploying their own unmanned ground vehicles to survive Ukraine's kill zone — and Ukrainians are hunting and destroying them, the Ukrainian military says.

Russia's Baltic coast took three hits in one night: gas hub, oil terminal, military icebreaker — all confirmed by Ukraine (updated). Russia's governor described the Ust-Luga fire as minor while black smoke rose over the port by morning. The SBU called the strike a "symbolic gift on SBU Day" and confirmed the Primorsk terminal — hit two nights earlier — was still burning.

Bombs fall on Russia's Leningrad Oblast for first time since WWII. Ukrainian military says they could be launched not from jet but A-22 civilian ultralight. These systems can strike targets up to 1,600 km away.

Reuters: 40% of Russia's oil exports offline, mostly due to Ukrainian drone strikes — worst disruption in Russian history. Russia earns roughly a quarter of its state budget from oil and gas. This week's attacks halted oil loadings at both Russian Baltic Sea terminals.

Drones crash in Estonia and Latvia overnight — stray Ukrainian or deliberate Russian, origin unclear. A drone struck the chimney of Estonia's Auvere power plant while another exploded in Latvia's Krāslava district, both entering from Russia; no injuries were reported, investigations are underway, and Estonia's government called an emergency meeting.

Intelligence and technology

Russia's ballistic missiles now change trajectory mid-flight. Europe needs 400% increase in air defense or face defeat. Russia reduced the effectiveness of Ukraine's Patriot interceptors, requiring more than one missile per intercept.

Ukrainian drone pilots get round-the-clock support from another continent. While Kyiv sleeps, Australian experts run night shift. Australian experts work Kyiv time to aid pilots and test equipment.

NATO and Ukraine just launched their first joint defense tech competition. €10 million is the prize. The competition has been launched under the UNITE — Brave NATO program, bringing together companies from Ukraine and NATO member states.

International

Orbán threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine. This decision will cost $1 billion for Hungarian voters.

Dutch opposition slams government: Financial aid to Ukraine nearly halved and far-right say "it's not our war". MPs demand answers—€2 billion in approved aid still delayed, reasons unclear.

Ukraine is asking world to sign appeal to expel Russia from UNESCO after 17th-century Lviv monastery attack. Ukraine's Institute of National Memory has launched an open appeal to UNESCO and international partners calling for Russia's expulsion from the organization.

Ukraine is developing first-ever Africa strategy, Budanov announces. Russia already has fighters from 36 African countries fighting in Ukraine. Ukraine is developing its first-ever strategy for expanding relations and presence on the African continent.

Humanitarian and social impact

At ports and railways first civilian air defense groups will appear in Ukraine. Last night, Russians killed a civilian on a commuter train in Kharkiv.

Political and legal developments

Putin watched Khamenei get killed. Then disappeared from public view for nine days. Then shut down Moscow's internet. Moscow's internet went dark after Khamenei was killed.

US and Czech citizens placed in pretrial detention over arson at plant supplying Ukraine — Czech intelligence asks if Russia used pro-Palestinian group as cover. A court in Pardubice remanded two of the three detained suspects; one shouted "Free Palestine" as police escorted him into the courthouse, despite the target of their crime having nothing to do with Israel.

Russia's oil revenues hit four-year high amid Iran's war. And Ukraine is paying price. Russia earns $270 million a day from exports.

The EU’s €90 billion ($97 billion) Ukraine Facility has one non-negotiable governance condition. NABU and SAPO must stay independent. NABU is the National Anti-Corruption Bureau; SAPO—the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office—handles its cases in court.

In mid-March, sources told Ukrainska Pravda, Ukraine’s government drafted a Cabinet resolution that could have removed NABU director Semen Kryvonos. The Cabinet never voted on it. The blunt public assault on NABU’s independence that failed in July 2025 has given way to something quieter.

The audit draft

Ukrainska Pravda reported on 24 March that Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, initiated the Cabinet draft without explanation. An audit had already taken place last year; the bureau was working through its recommendations. However, under Ukrainian law, a negative audit finding is grounds to dismiss NABU’s director.

“Last year, there was an audit,” a source within NABU told Ukrainska Pravda. “Experts gave us recommendations for improving the work—we started implementing them. The draft resolution that Kachka wanted to introduce was a big surprise for us. In the end, it all came to nothing—the government never considered the document. But it’s unclear what will happen next.”

The resolution has been quietly dropped with no public explanation.

A pattern, not a single draft

Since mid-January, the agencies’ own media monitoring detected coordinated attacks in pro-government Telegram channels, Ukrainska Pravda found. Messages targeted NABU and SAP leadership personally—claiming improper financial disclosures and illegal enrichment. Bureau sources said the campaigns appeared to be moderated by government-aligned forces.

Simultaneously, Ukrainian officials have been privately blaming NABU for the Rada’s legislative failures. Their argument to Western partners: NABU’s suspicions against MPs are why parliament won’t pass IMF-required laws.

The Rada’s paralysis is real—but the explanation is strained. On 10 March, parliament voted down Bill 14025—an IMF structural benchmark on taxing digital platforms—with only 168 votes. The threshold was 226.

MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak warned that 25 program milestones—IMF, World Bank, and EU Facility—won’t be met by end of March. That puts €7 billion ($8.1 billion) in Q1 disbursements at risk.

What officials haven’t told Western partners: NABU’s investigations don’t explain why the president’s own parliamentary faction can’t find the votes.

NABU’s independence is a Western problem too

That €7 billion is a tranche problem—legislative milestones missed in a single quarter. The NABU independence problem is bigger. The EU Ukraine Facility ties all its disbursements to governance benchmarks, including anti-corruption performance.

The mechanism proved real last July, when parliament briefly subordinated NABU and SAP to the Prosecutor General’s Office. The EU froze aid disbursements—not one tranche but across the program. Street protests forced a reversal within a week.

Explore further

“Aren’t you tired of feeding people garbage?” Ukrainian parliament reverses anti-corruption law after street protests

NABU’s most consequential period

The current pressure follows NABU’s most politically consequential period. Operation Midas exposed an alleged $100 million kickback scheme at state nuclear operator Energoatom.

The investigation reached Zelenskyy’s own chief of staff. Andriy Yermak resigned following searches by NABU at his residence in late November 2025. Spy chief Kyrylo Budanov replaced him as head of the Presidential Office in January.

Ukrainska Pravda’s analysis found no evidence of a “systematic and planned attack against the anti-corruption bodies.” But it concluded the pressure is “definitely keeping NABU and SAP employees in a state of toxic tension.”

The last time the government moved openly against NABU, the streets answered. A secret audit draft, Telegram smear campaigns, and diplomatic deflection are harder to protest.

Exclusives

Russia couldn’t fix its oil revenues. The US Air Force did it.. First-half March data show Russia’s fossil fuel revenues up 14%, as the Hormuz closure reversed India’s retreat from Russian crude.

Ukraine charges ruling-party MP with treason — and the case has two separate tracks. One case targets a 2024 post on the 72nd Brigade allegedly enabling rapid Russian redeployment. Another, court-opened, concerns Bezuhla’s 2021 disclosure of operatives during Wagnergate hearings.

Ukraine pauses rate cuts as Middle East oil shock rewrites inflation forecast. The NBU had one cut behind it and more planned. Then oil prices spiked.

Russia’s tanks are back after a year in hiding. Thursday was a massacre.. In 2025, Russia parked many of its combat vehicles. Now it may shifting them back into drive for a renewed mechanized push.

Three years of wartime growth—built almost entirely on government spending. Three years of wartime growth—but the engine is government spending, not a recovering economy.

Running restricted goods to Russia used to get you sanctioned. Apparently it now gets you unsanctioned.. Cleared entities include a Turkish network serving Russian intelligence services and a UAE firm that shipped manufacturing equipment to Russia.

Military

Gas infrastructure hit again: Russia's 2026 drone campaign against Naftogaz passes 30 strikes The latest overnight attack on Poltava and Sumy oblasts adds to a relentless energy strike campaign.

Ukrainian FPV drone downed Russian Ka-52 helicopter — then Magyar's Birds came back to finish the crew The fiber-optic drone couldn't be jammed. The pilots couldn't escape.

Russia orders shell casings from a steel plant in occupied Alchevsk. Ukraine's drones struck it again overnight The facility in Luhansk Oblast was previously targeted in December 2025. The extent of the damage from last night's attack is currently unknown.

Russia hit two grain-loaded ships under Palau and Barbados flags in Odesa port overnight — grain bunker and administrative buildings also damaged The same night, a Russian drone killed a woman being evacuated in Donetsk Oblast — the car was carrying three women over 70 and a man over 60 when it was struck.

ISW: Ukraine's drones pressure Russian command at every level — tactical, operational, strategic — likely disrupting spring offensive Ukrainian forces conducted 365 mid-range strikes between March 2025 and March 2026, a third of them in the last three months alone, using domestically produced drones.

Russia gears up for bigger war — plans to recruit 409,000 more troops for Ukraine front Meanwhile, a spring offensive ignites, and immediately bleeds, with over 3,000 Russian troops lost in just two days.

Russian drones hit Ukrainian city 15 km from Poland. Next day, Belarus moved heavy equipment toward Poland's border Russian Shahed drones struck an energy facility in Novovolynsk.

Hellish rain for occupiers: Russian battalion can no longer fire rockets from 40 tubes in 20 seconds Ukrainian infantry gains breathing room, freedom to maneuver.

Intelligence and technology

Four years of Shahed attacks made Ukraine the world's most sought-after drone defense instructor Eleven countries have asked for help. Some have already received Ukrainian teams and technology.

Russian Su-30 violated Estonian airspace for about a minute — Italy's NATO fighters scrambled The aircraft had no flight plan and no two-way radio contact with Estonian air traffic control.

Russian spies try to sneak into Europe. One arrived with Estonian residence permit and cover story about healthcare Estonia banned him from Schengen.

International

"Big deal" with Washington: Belarus says talks are advancing as ties with Trump's America warm The pattern is familiar: a prisoner release, then a deal on sanctions relief. This time, Lukashenka says the scope is wider than ever.

"Time to resume them": Ukraine sends senior delegation to US after pause in peace talks The Iran war pulled Washington's focus. Saturday's meeting is Kyiv's bid to get it back.

French Navy stops Russian shadow fleet ship in the Mediterranean: "Profiteers of war" Macron says the Deyna's crew helped finance Russia's invasion while evading international law.

Three years. That is how long most NATO military leaders think Alliance has before Russia tests Article 5 By 2029, Russia may attack NATO. The Alliance's military leaders agree on that.

250 Belarusians freed after Washington lifts sanctions on banks and potash — regime calls it "humanitarian" Fifteen of the released prisoners were transferred to Lithuania.

EU summit backs Ukraine's €90 billion loan and opens all accession clusters — but Orbán and Fico still block the money 25 EU leaders formally endorsed Ukraine's loan disbursement by early April and invited the Council to open all EU accession clusters without delay. Hungary and Slovakia declined to support the conclusions.

Middle East or Ukraine: April is when allies must decide which matters more, as both wars lead back to Moscow The war in Iran is consuming the missiles meant for Ukraine.

Russia faked Ukrainian phone numbers to threaten Hungarians in Ukraine — to help Orbán win Hungary's election, Kyiv says Callers impersonating Ukrainian police demanded ethnic Hungarians leave Ukraine and threatened violence, but the SBU traced every call to Russian territory.

Humanitarian and social impact

"100th attack on our team" — Russia kills two elderly women in strike on marked evacuation vehicle An 83-year-old and a 63-year-old died. The drone hit directly beside the humanitarian emblem.

Political and legal developments

71% of Ukrainians don't believe current talks will bring lasting peace — distrusting Russia and doubting their partners Distrust of Russia. Skepticism about Western guarantees. War fatigue rising. The data tells a complex story.

Russia used year of peace talks to set records in drone strikes. Now it has suspended talks, as Ukraine refuses to surrender Russia has suspended trilateral peace talks with the US and Ukraine after a year of negotiations that produced no territorial concessions, record drone and ballistic missile strikes, and plans to recruit an additional 409,000 troops — with the only agreed outcome being prisoner exchanges that began in 2022.

Read our previous daily review here.

A large majority of Ukrainians do not believe current negotiations will lead to a lasting peace, according to a new survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

The results come as Ukraine prepares for another round of negotiations with international partners in the coming days aimed at finding an end to the war with Russia. While Kyiv has signaled readiness to resume discussions, public opinion appears far more cautious about their potential outcome.

71% don't believe talks will succeed – and the number hasn't moved

The poll, conducted between March 1–8, found that 71% of respondents do not expect the talks to produce sustainable peace, while only 25% said they believe they could succeed. The findings suggest public skepticism has remained stable since the start of 2026, with little sign of growing optimism despite renewed diplomatic efforts.

According to KIIS, distrust toward Russia is the main driver of this skepticism. In earlier polling cited in the report, more than half of those doubtful about negotiations said they see no indication that Moscow is willing to end the war. Others pointed to the long history of unsuccessful talks, as well as limited confidence in Western support to secure a lasting settlement.

62% reject withdrawing from Donetsk Oblast – even for Western guarantees

At the same time, Ukrainians continue to show strong resistance to territorial concessions as part of any peace deal. The survey found that 62% consider it completely unacceptable to withdraw Ukrainian forces from the parts of Donetsk Oblast still under Kyiv’s control in exchange for security guarantees from the United States and Europe. Around 33% said they could accept such a deal, though most described it as a difficult compromise.

The data suggests that even among those open to concessions, support is often conditional and tied to the strength and credibility of security guarantees. KIIS notes that backing for such proposals drops significantly when guarantees are seen as limited or lacking concrete military commitments.

War endurance still high – but declining

The poll also highlights a gradual shift in public endurance as the war enters its fifth year. While 54% of respondents said they are ready to endure the war for as long as necessary, this figure has declined from earlier in 2026. Meanwhile, 28% said they are only prepared to endure the war for a shorter period of several months to half a year.

Analysts at KIIS say the decline is most visible among those who had previously been more open to compromise solutions, suggesting that unmet expectations from negotiations may be contributing to growing fatigue. At the same time, those firmly opposed to territorial concessions have remained relatively consistent in their willingness to continue the war.

Distrust of Russia and doubts about partners drive the mood

In comments accompanying the survey, KIIS Executive Director Anton Hrushetskyi said Ukrainians remain broadly pessimistic about the current negotiations, driven primarily by distrust of Russia but also by concerns about the reliability of international partners.

The findings point to a complex public mood: while many Ukrainians support diplomatic efforts in principle, a clear majority do not see them as a realistic path to peace under current conditions.

A Kyiv court forced Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office to open criminal proceedings against Mariana Bezuhla, a member of parliament from President Zelenskyy's ruling Servant of the People party, under four criminal articles, including wartime high treason, Liga reported on 19 March. 

Investigators must establish whether her public posts about frontline troop movements enabled Russia to redeploy forces, leading to the disruption of a planned rotation and the loss of defensive positions near Vuhledar. A second, parallel investigation — also court-ordered — concerns her 2021 disclosure of the names of intelligence operatives during closed parliamentary hearings on the intelligence operation, later dubbed Wagnergate in the media.

Court-ordered proceedings on four charges

The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv obliged the Prosecutor General's Office to launch a pre-trial investigation into a complaint filed by MPs Serhii Taruta and Fedir Venislavskyi, Censor reported. The Office confirmed the proceedings were opened by court decision without naming Bezuhla specifically. 

The State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) confirmed the proceedings as well, with DBR communications adviser Tetiana Sapian telling Liga they cover four criminal articles: high treason committed under martial law (Part 2, Article 111), which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment; disclosure of state secrets (Part 1, Article 328); disclosure of military information constituting a state secret (Part 1, Article 422); and interference in the activities of a public official (Part 1, Article 344).

The Vuhledar post

The investigation centers on Bezuhla's actions from late August 2024, when she published a social media post claiming Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi intended to withdraw the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade from Vuhledar. 

"I have numerous appeals from soldiers in despair that Syrskyi is withdrawing the 72nd brigade from Vuhledar, which had been repelling all attacks there for two years and knows the terrain perfectly. The Russians already know this and are preparing. This will be a catastrophe, like Toretsk and New York, when the 24th brigade was withdrawn from there. It seems as if he is deliberately destabilizing the front," the post read. 

Taruta argued that concrete consequences followed: Russia redeployed significant additional forces to that sector in under 24 hours, a planned rotation of the 72nd brigade was disrupted, and Ukrainian forces lost defensive positions near Vuhledar. Investigators must now establish whether a causal link exists between the posts and those operational outcomes, ZN reported. 

"When public activity leads to casualties among servicemen, the weakening of defense and demoralization of the army — this is no longer about freedom of speech. This is about responsibility," Taruta stated.

2024

Ukrainian brigade says it minimized losses through strategic retreat from Vuhledar

The Wagnergate track

A separate court-ordered investigation predates the current four-article case. The Pechersk court also obliged the Prosecutor General's Office to open proceedings against Bezuhla under Part 2, Article 328 of the Criminal Code — disclosure of state secrets causing grave consequences, carrying five to ten years in prison — based on a complaint by former HUR (Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Defense Ministry) colonel Roman Chervynskyi, attorney Andrii Yosypov announced. 

2023

Ukraine’s “Wagnergate” chief on trial for failed daring intel op; opposition slams “political repressions”

That case stems from September 2021, when Bezuhla chaired the parliamentary Temporary Investigative Commission examining the Wagnergate operation — a failed HUR special operation aimed at detaining Wagner mercenaries. 

2021

Bellingcat finds Ukraine’s Wagner sting operation failed due to President’s Office interference

All commission members received formal notice before hearings that the testimony constituted state secrets. That same day, ZN reports, Bezuhla gave a media interview disclosing the operation's details and naming the servicemen who participated in it. Russia has officially designated Wagnergate a terrorist act, making every publicly identified participant a potential FSB target. 

"The status of a member of parliament does not give the right to trade the security of intelligence officers for political PR," Yosypov wrote, pointing to the deaths of officers Voronich, Shapoval, and Kharaberiush and attempts on HUR chief Budanov's life as examples of Russia's practice of liquidating identified operatives.

Bezuhla's response and earlier controversies

Bezuhla initially responded to the proceedings with a brief social media post — a photo against a backdrop of military unit flags and a message that she would not be intimidated — without addressing the substance of the charges. She later published a sarcastic post beginning, “I’m thinking of suing Syrskyi for”, followed by a long list largely comprising cities now under Russian occupation, implying that she rejects the charges and views the case as Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi’s retaliation for her criticism of him.

The case is not her first controversy over operational security: former Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk publicly called her "the main newsmaker of enemy propaganda" after she claimed a Ukrainian F-16 had been downed by friendly fire.

Ukraine's SBU has filed treason suspicions against more than 3,200 people since 2014. In 2025, the DBR charged former MP Oleh Voloshyn from the banned Opposition Platform — For Life party with treason for spreading pro-Russian propaganda. Bezuhla, however, remains a sitting member of the ruling party.