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Morning Headlines
The Insider: A consortium of investigative outlets obtained transcripts and audio of calls between Hungarian FM Péter Szijjártó, Sergey Lavrov, and other Russian officials, showing how Hungary—and Slovakia—secretly act on the Kremlin’s behalf.
Reuters: The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas and several EU foreign ministers arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday to mark the fourth anniversary of the Bucha massacre and to voice their support for Ukraine, amid tensions within the bloc over blocked EU aid.
Reuters: Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party has used surging energy prices to revive its longstanding call for Berlin to turn once more to Russia for cheap energy after scoring some of its best results in two state elections this month.
BBC: Satellite imagery and verified videos show Ukraine has repeatedly struck key Russian oil export infrastructure near the Baltic Sea in the past week, leaving some facilities burning for several days.
Reuters: Ukrainian drones have damaged Russia's Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga again, Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of Leningrad region, said on Tuesday.
ISW: Ukraine’s operational and strategic ability to inflict mounting costs on Russia is generating increasing anxiety in the Russian ultranationalist information space.
More News
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine has identified 27,407 foreign nationals fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine as of March 30, up from more than 18,000 in November, with Moscow recruiting them from at least 135 countries, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Reuters: The White House said on Monday it has not changed U.S. policy toward Cuba, even as it allowed a sanctioned Russian tanker to deliver fuel to the island for humanitarian reasons, saying such decisions would be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Politico: Ukraine’s success in breaking Russia’s Black Sea blockade has given it vital expertise to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.
Euronews: Ukraine signed a 10-year defence agreement with Bulgaria, a major arms manufacturer, covering production of drones and other weapons, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Monday.
TechRadar: Apple has reportedly pulled several VPN clients from its Russian App Store, marking yet another escalation in the country's efforts to control internet access.
The Moscow Times: A French court Monday issued an arrest warrant and a one-year jail sentence against the Chinese captain of a suspected Russian "shadow fleet" tanker over failing to comply with orders to stop his ship.
Reuters: German prosecutors said on Monday they have arrested a Ukrainian man, Vitalii M., on suspicion of collecting information in Germany for the Russian intelligence service since at least November 2025.
The Guardian: The UK government has fined a subsidiary of Apple £390,000 for breaching sanctions against Moscow over payments it made to a Russian streaming platform.
Reuters: Groups linked to Russia and Iran are increasingly using cryptocurrency to finance the purchase of low-cost military drones and components, according to a new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
United24 Media: Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works, a Russian military train, and a launcher from an S-400 Triumph air defense system, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on March 30.
Reuters: The first of the air defence units formed by Ukrainian industrial enterprises has already begun carrying out combat duties, while new units are being formed at 13 other enterprises, Ukraine's defence minister said on Monday.
The Kyiv Independent: One of Ukraine's largest drone makers, General Cherry, has signed a deal to produce unmanned aerial vehicles in the U.S., the company said in a statement shared with the Kyiv Independent on March 30.
Yle: Ukraine has issued an apology to Finland for the two stray drones that crashed in southeastern Finland on Sunday. According to the Ukrainian foreign affairs ministry, the drones were not targeting Finland under any circumstances. The drones ending up in Finnish territory was likely due to electronic signal interference by Russia.
BBC: Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine's allies have urged him to scale back attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure amid the ongoing global fuel crisis - but that they would only end if Russia stopped targeting Ukraine's first.
Reuters: Serbia has secured a further three months of gas imports from Russia following talks with Putin, the Balkan nation's President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday.
CIReN: The Paris Judicial Tribunal is holding the first hearing on criminal charges of aggravated money laundering against Russian businessman Dmitry Klyuev, the alleged ringleader of a massive tax fraud.
BOFIT: Russian economic growth slowed to just 1 percent last year, down from nearly 5 percent in 2024.
France 24: Russia on Monday kicked out a British diplomat over allegations he was working as a spy -- charges rejected by London as "complete nonsense".
worth mentioning
Ukraine hits back against Rheinmetall CEO's housewives' drones comments
Putin likely to stage another Salisbury-style attack, exiled oil tycoon says
Russia orders mobile operators to disable Apple account payments to limit VPN access
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