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Morning Headlines
Reuters: Ukraine is in talks with Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain to cooperate in the security sector and share its drone defence expertise and technology, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Politico: Serbia faces losing up to €1.5 billion in EU funding as the European Commission weighs pulling the plug over democratic backsliding and the country’s close ties with Russia.
Reuters: Ukraine has made significant progress restoring the damaged Druzhba oil pipeline and will complete the repairs in spring, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, amid a bitter row with Hungary over the disruption to supplies of Russian oil.
ISW: Unverified reporting suggests that the Kremlin privately acknowledges Ukraine’s upper hand in drone operations on the battlefield and defense industrial base production.
Reuters: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the spring and summer months would be difficult for Ukraine as it would face pressure on the battlefield and also diplomatically to end the war.
More News
Reuters: Putin on Thursday announced a 32-hour ceasefire over a two-day period for Orthodox Easter and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv would abide by the measure.
Politico: A “fed up” Keir Starmer drew parallels between Trump and Putin as he complained about mounting energy costs for Brits as a result of the Iran war.
Reuters: Trump, upset at NATO allies' failure to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and angry that his plans to acquire Greenland have not moved forward, has discussed with advisers the option of removing some U.S. troops from Europe, a senior White House official told Reuters on Thursday.
Reuters: Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev is currently in the U.S. and is meeting members of Trump's administration for discussions on a peace deal for Ukraine and U.S.-Russia economic cooperation. The visit comes before the U.S. decision on whether to extend relief on sanctions on Russian oil, which expires on April 11 and could also be on the agenda.
The Guardian: The European Commission is being urged to investigate whether Hungary’s elections are being undermined by Russian manipulation, intimidation of journalists and voter coercion by the ruling party.
The Kyiv Independent: Moldovan President Maia Sandu has signed into law bills on withdrawing from the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States, the Moldovan media outlet Newsmaker reported late on April 8.
Ukrinform: Partners have approached Ukraine with requests not to destroy Russian oil terminals, but Ukraine has its own national interests, Budanov said.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia plans to increase the size of its Unmanned Systems Forces by about 60 percent, aiming for a total of 165,500 by the end of 2026, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on April 9.
The Moscow Times: Russia’s federal budget deficit surged past its full-year target in the first three months of 2026, underscored by a sharp decline in energy tax receipts and a double-digit spike in government spending.
Reuters: Security officers raided the Moscow office of leading independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta on Thursday and state media said a prominent journalist had been arrested.
BBC: Three Russian submarines conducted a "covert" operation over cables and pipelines in waters north of the UK, Defence Secretary John Healey said. A British warship and aircraft were deployed to deter the "malign" activity by Moscow and there was "no evidence" of any damage to UK infrastructure in the Atlantic, he added.
Reuters: Russia's Supreme Court designated human rights group Memorial as an "extremist" movement on Thursday, a move the group said marked a new phase of oppression in the country.
Politico: Hungary’s talks with Russian officials about sanctions were “a betrayal of the solidarity that is required among members of the European Union,” France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in an interview Thursday.
Reuters: The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia had the right to defend itself from what it called piracy after a British newspaper reported that a Russian navy frigate had escorted oil tankers sanctioned by Britain through the English Channel.
RFE/RL: Russia's main security agency detained a former Russian freelancer for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, accusing the man of treason and claiming he allegedly communicated with Ukrainian intelligence.
Reuters: Russia will see revenue from its biggest single oil tax double to $9 billion in April due to the oil and gas crisis triggered by the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, Reuters calculations showed on Thursday.
worth mentioning
Trump welcomes accused Russia propagandist back to US—and White House Easter egg hunt
Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces have destroyed 9 Russian air defence systems in 9 days of April
Estonia halts €500 million combat vehicle procurement to fund air defense
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