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Morning Headlines
Reuters: South Korea's customs authorities said on Thursday that they would ramp up a crackdown on illegal car exports to Russia after discovering a growing number of vehicles being sent to Russia via third countries such as China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia has earned an additional 6 billion euros in two weeks of fighting between the U.S. and Iran, a March 12 analysis by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air found.
Reuters: Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on Thursday he had discussed the current energy crisis with his U.S. counterparts as part of a meeting of the U.S.-Russia working group on economy that took place in Florida.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia attacked the southern city of Zaporizhzhia and the surrounding region with guided aerial bombs on March 11, injuring at least 13 people, including two children, local authorities reported.
ISW: The Kremlin is likely setting informational conditions to expand Russian demands of Ukraine and NATO by making it clear that its current demands are no longer sufficient.
More News
CNN: Russia is helping Iran with advanced drone tactics from its war in Ukraine to hit US and Gulf nation targets in the Middle East, according to a Western intelligence official.
The Kyiv Independent: A Russian drone struck a district police department in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast the morning of March 11, injuring over 40 officers, the Interior Ministry reported.
Reuters: The Russian government is preparing a possible 10% cut to all "non-sensitive" spending in this year's budget, sources told Reuters, but the final decision will hinge on the sustainability of the oil price rise triggered by the Iran war.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine said it carried out a series of strikes across Russian-occupied territories overnight on March 10-11, targeting air defense systems, fuel depots, ammunition storage sites, and other military infrastructure.
The Moscow Times: A record 155 Russians were included in the Forbes annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest people, marking the fourth consecutive year that the number of Russian billionaires on the list has grown.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine, on March 11, denounced the International Paralympic Committee for the mistreatment of Ukrainian athletes and fans at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, calling the organization’s conduct a "disgrace."
Novaya-Europe: Deputies in the lower chamber of the Russian parliament have introduced a bill that would allow conscripts to be drafted into the military regardless of whether they appeal against the military commission’s decision to call them up.
At the request of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Defence Procurement Agency DOT contracted a record number of multirotor drones for frontline needs in January and February.
Kyiv Post: Ukraine has significantly reduced its reliance on Chinese components in drone production as Kyiv accelerates domestic manufacturing to support its war effort against Russia.
The Kyiv Independent: A Hungarian delegation is traveling to Ukraine to assess the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline and "push for the rapid restoration of oil transit to Hungary," Zoltan Kovacs, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said on March 11.
Reuters: Ukrainian military trainers will help Germany's military meet a target of being ready to defend against any Russian attack on NATO by 2029, the German army chief said, in a role reversal after years of Western troops training Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainska Pravda: The Financial Times has reported that the Kremlin-linked Social Design Agency has developed a disinformation campaign backing Hungarian PM Orbán ahead of the upcoming elections.
The Insider identifies 6,000 exporters trading with sanctioned Russian firms or defense industry suppliers, 4,000 of them based in China. The companies are directly violating international restrictions — and profiting from the invasion of Ukraine.
The Guardian: Jersey authorities may be investigating whether cash raised by Roman Abramovich’s 2022 sale of Chelsea FC amounts to the proceeds of crime, according to documents filed at Companies House on Wednesday, potentially complicating a row with the UK government over how the money will be used.
Ukrinform: Russia's direct losses as a result of Ukrainian offensive cyber operations in 2025 amounted to $220 million.
The Insider: Austria’s Putin-friendly former foreign minister lives on million-ruble fees from propaganda channel RT. Karin Kneissl’s annual income since moving to Russia has reached €220,000 — more than she earned as an official in Austria.
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