Live:Ukraine
⚡️ Russia used more than 3,000 drones, over 1,450 bombs, and 40 missiles against Ukraine last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
In Kharkiv, Russian forces struck residential buildings in the morning. Two people were injured in the Kholodnohirskyi district, and four buildings were damaged.
In Kherson, a woman was killed and a man injured after a drone hit a passenger car, causing a fire.
In the Mykolaiv region, a 13-year-old girl died following a Russian attack the previous evening. Ten others were injured, most of them teenagers.
⚡️ President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Jordan as part of his Middle East tour.
According to him, several important meetings are planned during the visit.
Earlier, Zelensky traveled to Saudi Arabia on Friday and to Qatar the following day. Ukraine signed ten-year cooperation agreements with both countries.
🇫🇮Several drones crashed on Finnish territory on Sunday morning.
Two drones fell near the city of Kouvola, while another likely landed on sea ice near Espoo, the country’s second-largest city. Both locations are situated along the Gulf of Finland.
On the same night, drones operated by Ukraine’s Security Service targeted the Russian port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region, which is also located on the Gulf of Finland.
Finland’s Air Force identified one of the drones as a Ukrainian AN-196 “Liutyi” UAV. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the drones were likely Ukrainian.
Over the past week, Ukraine has carried out four strikes on Russian oil facilities in the Leningrad region. During previous attacks, Ukrainian drones likely crashed in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Authorities in those countries have blamed the incidents on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
⚡️ Russian forces carried out attacks across Ukraine during the day. Here is what is known about the consequences:
🔴 Kramatorsk. Russian forces dropped an aerial bomb on the city, killing three people, including a 13-year-old boy. At least 12 people were injured, some of them seriously.
🔴 Zaporizhzhia region. Guided aerial bombs struck the settlement of Zarichne in the Zaporizhzhia district. A 75-year-old woman was killed, and a 72-year-old man was injured. In the village of Bilenke, a drone attack wounded a 77-year-old man.
Defense Ministry advisor Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov said Russian forces are dropping mines from Shahed drones on a daily basis, up to eight per drone. A video circulating online shows a drone dropping mines up to 50 km inside Ukrainian territory.
⚡️ Drones struck a chemical plant in Tolyatti, Russia’s Samara region, overnight. This is the second attack on the facility in a month.
The temporarily occupied city of Alchevsk in the Luhansk region was also hit. Local Telegram channels reported strikes on a substation and a metallurgical plant, with power outages in parts of the city.
Explosions were reported throughout the night in Taganrog, in Russia’s Rostov region. Preliminary reports suggest an air defense missile may have hit residential buildings.
⚡️ Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with an Iskander missile and 164 drones, with air defenses downing 150 UAVs.
The ballistic missile and 12 drones struck targets in seven locations, while debris fell in two others. One of the drones hit the village of Bezruky in the Kharkiv region, injuring two residents.
Three districts in the Dnipropetrovsk region were also targeted overnight, with fires reported in a residential building, a garage, and a car.
⚡️ NYT reports that the United States is allowing a Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba despite the blockade.
The vessel Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying 730,000 barrels of oil, departed from Primorsk on March 9 and initially listed its destination as Atlantis, USA, likely as a joke. The tanker has now nearly reached Cuban territorial waters.
According to the New York Times, despite the effective oil blockade, the White House did not order it to be intercepted, even though US Coast Guard ships are present in the region.
The decision could ease Cuba’s energy crisis for several weeks and may also signal that Havana can still count on support from Russia, the publication writes.
Trump himself said he does not oppose such deliveries because Cuba needs to survive, but at the same time stressed that it has a bad regime and very corrupt leadership, so this single tanker will not change anything.
🇪🇺The EU is growing increasingly cautious about the idea of admitting poorer countries, including Ukraine, citing concerns about having “another Orban,” Politico reports.
For current EU members, admitting wealthier countries is far more attractive than expansion to poorer states such as Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro.
Their accession would mean an additional financial burden for existing EU members. Diplomats also fear that democratic institutions in new member states could erode over time.
“We don’t want another Hungary or Slovakia. We don’t know what will happen in these new countries in 10–15 years. Then we could end up stuck with another [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orban,” said one European diplomat.
Meanwhile, economically developed countries that meet most EU criteria but have not rushed to join the bloc are increasingly viewing it as a security instrument rather than an economic opportunity.
This includes Iceland and Norway — Reykjavik has already accelerated preparations for a referendum on resuming negotiations with the EU.
⚡️ Military cooperation with Middle Eastern countries, a ceasefire, and peace talks. Key points from Volodymyr Zelensky’s conversation with journalists:
◾On the Middle East. Ukraine has signed 10-year strategic cooperation agreements with Middle Eastern countries in miltech and other areas. Ukraine plans to export not only interceptor drones but also defense lines, software, electronic warfare systems, maritime drones, and more. There are also agreements for energy support from Gulf countries.
◾On peace negotiations. Ukraine is ready to meet in any format and location except Russia and Belarus. A trilateral meeting is postponed because the U.S. focus is currently on Iran. Zelensky does not believe the talks have reached a deadlock.
◾On an energy truce. Ukraine has received signals from partners on how to reduce retaliatory measures against Russia’s oil sector. “If Russia is ready not to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure, we will not respond against theirs.”
◾On criticism of Ukrainian drones by the CEO of Rheinmetall. “It sounds strange. If every Ukrainian household could really produce drones, then every Ukrainian household could be the CEO of Rheinmetall. Today, competition is not about rhetoric but about technology, and the results of this technology are demonstrated daily on the battlefield: on land, in the air, and at sea.”
◾On the Easter ceasefire. Ukraine supports a ceasefire during Easter holidays as well as any other truce formats. “We are ready for any compromises, except compromises on our dignity and sovereignty.”
◾On missile shortages. There has never been enough PAC-3 missiles for Patriot systems in Ukraine or globally; production is limited to around 60 units per month. Currently, most anti-ballistic packages are directed to the Middle East. Ukraine is negotiating with two countries for alternatives to these missiles.