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Morning Headlines
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian drones reportedly struck oil terminals in the port cities of Ust-Luga and Primorsk in Russia's Leningrad Oblast overnight on March 27, Russian Telegram media channels reported. The reported strikes mark the third straight night of attacks targeting oil facilities in the region.
Reuters: Russia's Putin has asked oligarchs to donate to the country's budget in a bid to stabilise the country's finances as he presses on with his invasion of Ukraine, The Bell online media outlet reported late on Thursday.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia is auctioning off natural resource assets in occupied Ukrainian territories, including a gold deposit in Luhansk Oblast, Reuters reported on March 26, citing auction documents.
More News
US Senate: A bipartisan pair of US senators are set to introduce legislation calling for sanctions to be imposed on senior Hungarian officials involved in obstructing aid to Ukraine.
Reuters: The foreign ministers of the G7 group of nations will discuss repair works worth about 500 million euros for the protective shield of Ukraine's Chornobyl nuclear plant, France's foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Thursday.
The Insider: Satellite data shows significantly greater damage from the March 23 drone strike on the oil port of Primorsk in Russia’s Leningrad Region than had previously been reported, experts from Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe said in comments to The Insider.
Reuters: The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it is providing $25 million in new assistance to support the identification, return, and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children.
The Moscow Times: Restaurant traffic and revenue in Russia have fallen to their lowest levels in 25 years since the start of 2026, an industry group said, as consumers cut back on spending and costs rise.
Kyiv Insider: In a desperate crackdown just weeks before Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary elections, Orbán’s authoritarian regime is reportedly filing espionage charges against award-winning investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi.
Reuters: Moscow is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into an aggressive buildout of transport and trade infrastructure in the Ukrainian territories it has seized. The projects are inexorably weaving these occupied areas into Russia and undermining demands by Kyiv and its allies that the land be returned.
Reuters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that he had arrived in Saudi Arabia and would hold "important meetings", part of an effort to bolster ties with Middle East countries amid the Iran war.
Reuters: The closure of Russia’s Baltic port of Ust‑Luga following a drone attack on Wednesday could force major refineries in the European part of the country to cut crude runs due to shipping constraints. According to Reuters' sources and social media reports, the strike damaged a rail unloading rack for petroleum products at the Ust‑Luga terminal.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces have liberated nine settlements in the Oleksandrivka front-line sector and killed 2,653 Russian troops during an operation that lasted roughly two months, Ukraine's Air Assault Forces Command said on March 26.
Reuters: Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka are lining up to buy Russian oil as the Iran war blocks supplies, raising the possibility that demand may exceed supply, several sources including Russia said.
Politico: At least 34 members of the European Parliament are urging the EU’s top leadership to take action against the Venice Biennale’s decision to reinstate Russia, escalating the political backlash against the prestigious art exhibition set to start on May 9.
Reuters: NATO's European allies and Canada increased defence spending by 20% in 2025 compared to the previous year in real terms, alliance chief Mark Rutte said in his annual report published Thursday, urging NATO members to keep up the momentum.
BBC: Zimbabwe says that 15 of its nationals have been killed after being recruited to fight for Russia in its ongoing war with Ukraine, with more than 60 still trapped on the frontlines.
The Moscow Times: A delegation of State Duma lawmakers is set to meet members of Congress on Thursday, while a separate, previously unreported meeting of Russian federal officials will take place at the U.S. Institute of Peace on Friday, a State Department spokesperson told The Moscow Times.
Reuters: The Pentagon is weighing whether to redirect weapons originally meant for Ukraine to the Middle East, as the war in Iran strains supplies of some of the U.S. military's most critical munitions, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
Reuters: South Korea has confirmed with the U.S. that it can pay for Russian oil products, including naphtha, in currencies other than the dollar without facing secondary sanctions.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces struck the Kirishi Petroleum Organic Synthesis (Kinef) oil refinery in the city of Kirishi, located in Russia's Leningrad Oblast, overnight on March 26, the General Staff confirmed.
Reuters: A marine drone struck a crude oil tanker that had departed Russia, causing an explosion in the Black Sea near Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on Thursday, Turkey's transportation minister said.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia has been shipping drones to Iran to aid its ally in the war against the United States and Israel, according to a Western intelligence report, the Financial Times reported on March 25.
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