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Morning Headlines
International human rights foundation Global Rights Compliance has released a new report revealing first-hand testimonies from North Koreans in Russia, exploited as part of a programme that sees 100,000-workers sent overseas in a state-sponsored labour programme operating across 40 countries.
Politico launched a security review after a private telephone conversation between one of its reporters and an EU official about issues connected to Hungary and Ukraine was apparently intercepted and the recording published online.
LRT: Latvia’s military said a drone had entered the country from Russia before crashing in the eastern Krāslava district near the borders with Russia and Belarus, the country’s public broadcaster reported on Wednesday.
Reuters: A fire broke out at Russia's Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, a major oil export hub, after a major Ukrainian drone attack, Russian officials said on Wednesday.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces destroyed a Zircon hypersonic missile launcher in occupied Crimea during an overnight strike March 24, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.
ISW: Russia likely seeks to take advantage of a global shortage of Patriot interceptors and the current war in the Middle East to escalate its strike campaign against Ukraine.
More News
Reuters: A rare Russian daytime drone attack on Ukraine killed three people, wounded several dozen and set a building in the historic centre of the western city of Lviv aflame on Tuesday, officials said, following an overnight bombardment that killed five.
OCCRP: Two relatives running a Russian drone company are also exporting grain from occupied Ukraine. The grain is sent to Turkey and Egypt, despite Ukraine calling the trade a war crime.
According to an investigation by the German outlet Correctiv, Russian state security agencies were behind a large-scale phishing campaign on the Signal messenger that targeted European politicians, officials, and journalists.
Reuters: German prosecutors said on Tuesday that two people had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia, gathering intelligence on an individual who was supplying drones and related components to Ukraine.
Euronews: A network linked to pro-Kremlin actors is impersonating major media outlets to spread false claims about Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar ahead of parliamentary elections.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine has "liquidated" an alleged hitman working for Russia's military intelligence agency, arrested more than ten co-conspirators, and foiled a plot to assassinate several high-profile Ukrainian figures, the Security Service of Ukraine said on March 24.
Reuters: The European Commission will no longer submit a legal proposal to permanently ban Russian oil imports over Moscow's war in Ukraine on April 15 as previously planned, an updated EU legislative agenda showed on Tuesday. An EU official, however, told Reuters the proposal had not been cancelled and would still be published though no longer by the mid-April date due to "current geopolitical developments".
Reuters: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Group of Seven foreign ministers in France on Friday for talks on Russia's war in Ukraine and the Middle East situation stemming from the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, the State Department said.
Militarnyi: Polish company MBF Group, together with an Estonian partner and supported by Ukraine’s engineering and manufacturing capabilities, has created a consortium to develop “smart” minefields controlled via a mesh network.
United24 Media: Russia’s efforts to mobilize people in the occupied territories of Ukraine are no longer effective due to a lack of available manpower, a representative of Ukraine’s military intelligence said.
Yonhap: The Ukrainian government has affirmed that it will consider the humanitarian principle of not transferring prisoners of war against their will in the handling of two North Korean soldiers captured during its war with Russia, a civic group said Tuesday.
Euronews: Hungary's Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has acknowledged that he regularly contacts his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, during private EU meetings on foreign affairs.
Ukrainska Pravda: The US, together with Russia, is pressuring Ukraine over the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donetsk Oblast. UP sources have said that if there is no progress, Washington may withdraw from the negotiations and shift its focus to military operations in Iran.
Reuters: Moldova's parliament approved the introduction of a 60-day energy state of emergency after Russian attacks in neighbouring Ukraine put out of action a power line providing the bulk of the country's energy needs.
worth mentioning
Bacon, Meeks demand Bessent and Rubio explain easing of Russian oil sanctions
$500 and a trip abroad: How recruits end up in Russian sabotage training camps
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