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Morning Headlines
Reuters: The International Monetary Fund's executive board on Thursday approved an $8.1 billion, four-year loan for Ukraine, with $1.5 billion to be disbursed immediately to help keep the government running as its war against Russia's invasion drags into a fifth year.
Politico: Hungary is holding up the EU’s latest set of sanctions on Russia to pressure the European Commission into approving its application for a €16 billion defense loan.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine reportedly launched overnight strikes on Feb. 27, hitting a thermal power station in Belgorod Oblast and an oil depot in occupied Luhansk, according to Russian officials and eyewitness footage posted to social media.
Politico: The far-right opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has triggered security fears in Berlin after officially requesting information on vulnerabilities in NATO defenses — insight that would prove useful to the Kremlin.
More News
The Daily Beast: Putin’s top aides are snickering behind Trump’s back because they think the Russian tyrant is playing the MAGA leader like a fiddle. British spies have repeatedly shared with their U.S. counterparts intercepted calls and texts between ranking Kremlin officials ridden with laughter at what they perceive as Trump’s willingness to take Putin at his word on his invasion of Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent: The Swedish Armed Forces jammed a suspected Russian drone as it approached France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle while the ship was docked in Malmö during NATO exercises, Swedish broadcaster SVT reported Feb. 26.
Novaya-Europe: Amid a deepening labour shortage, the Russian government is to ease restrictions on employing teenagers in certain industries once considered too dangerous for minors.
Reuters: Russian authorities have decided on a time frame for blocking the Telegram messaging app and this may happen in early April, the RBC news outlet reported on Thursday.
Reuters: The rouble is set to tumble by nearly a quarter this year after the government, faced with falling energy revenues, announced plans to save more money in a yuan-denominated fiscal reserve fund, a top Russian banker and analysts said on Thursday.
Reuters: The United States has slowed the sale of Russian oil giant Lukoil's international assets to 'pressure' Russia in the Ukraine peace talks.
The Insider: The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism and the GLOBSEC policy think tank have updated their report on Russia’s so-called “crime-terror nexus” in Europe. According to the document, the Kremlin’s hybrid attack campaign significantly accelerated starting in the fall of 2025, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
Ukrainska Pravda: The State Duma, the lower chamber of Russia's parliament, has adopted a bill refusing the extradition to foreign states of foreign nationals who served within Russian forces and took part in the war against Ukraine.
Sky News: A Ukrainian family denied asylum in the UK was told by the Home Office that they could relocate within Ukraine and their daughter should wear noise-cancelling headphones to prevent panic attacks.
The Moscow Times: Russia’s regions went on a splurge last year, running a record combined budget deficit of around 1.48 trillion rubles ($19.22 billion) as spending continued to outpace revenue growth, the Kommersant business newspaper reported Thursday.
The Guardian: The Ukrainian wing of an internationally proscribed terrorist organization with suspected links to Russia is continuing to claim multiple murders in Ukraine, which comes after it was linked to the brazen assassination of an intelligence officer in Kyiv over the summer.
Reuters: Hungarian PM Orban on Wednesday asked the EU for a "fact-finding mission" to assess damage to the Druzhba oil pipeline in Ukraine, and suggested this could help unblock new EU funding to Ukraine, a letter seen by Reuters showed.
The Moscow Times: Russia’s only domestic producer of optical fiber has been offline since May 2025 following Ukrainian attacks, industry officials said on Thursday. The halted operations have left Russia fully dependent on Chinese supplies for a key component for telecommunications networks and military drone systems.
Reuters: The European Union needs to coordinate its plan to impose a full maritime services ban on Russia's seaborne crude oil exports with other G7 countries before pushing ahead with the measure, the EU's sanctions envoy said on Thursday.
Reuters: Images of debris from Russian strikes on Ukraine strongly indicate that Moscow has used a cruise missile whose development led Donald Trump to quit a landmark nuclear pact in his first term, two experts said, confirming earlier Reuters reporting.
worth mentioning
Germany expands military powers to fight drones
Czech Republic 'certainly not' on path to higher defence spending target, says Babis
Members of Putin’s inner circle routinely handed control of Russia’s largest expropriated companies
S.Africa deaths, Kenya court case show citizens drawn into Ukraine war
US threatens to cut off Swiss bank MBaer from financial system over alleged Iran, Russia, Venezuela ties
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