News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe

The number includes 1,140 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

"We have imposed sanctions on those individuals, the Russian participants. And we are now raising the issue to ensure they are not granted visas. We very much hope that we will be heard... and expect that visas will not be issued," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

The resumption of transit could clear the way for the EU's 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) loan to Kyiv, which Budapest blocked over the suspension of transit.

Russian forces launched 215 drones against Ukraine overnight, of which 189 were downed or jammed.

The U.S. has run through over half of its stockpiles of key air defense missiles during the nearly two-month war on Iran.

Kyiv faces a defense gap of 19.6 billion euros ($23.1 billion) this year, even after accounting for funds already committed and the 90-billion-euro Ukraine Support Loan that's on its way.

"(President Volodymyr Zelensky's) position is clear: no 'ersatz membership' — we will not accept any of them. This is a firm position," Sybiha said at a closed-door meeting with journalists attended by the Kyiv Independent.

Photos and videos posted on social media purport to show several damaged residential buildings in the city amid reports of falling drones debris.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on April 21 that he was extending Washington's ceasefire with Iran until Tehran "can come up with a unified proposal" to bring an end to the war.

Ukrainian officials involved in recent peace talks reportedly suggested that part of the Donbas could be renamed "Donnyland" in honor of U.S. President Donald Trump, the New York Times reported April 21.

Italy summoned Russia's ambassador on April 21 to protest "extremely serious and offensive" remarks about Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by pro-Kremlin TV host Vladimir Solovyov.

"Ukraine has completed repair work on the section of the Druzhba oil pipeline that was damaged by a Russian strike," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukrainian billionaire and oligarch Rinat Akhmetov purchased a luxury apartment in Monaco valued at $550 million in one of the most expensive residential property deals in history, Bloomberg reported April 21.

Dombrovskis reminded that the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan is structured so that Ukraine only repays if Russia pays Ukraine reparations. “(This), of course, invites a question: what happens if Russia does not pay reparations?” he said.

The site was used to bury residents who died during the Russian siege of the city in 2022, according to Ukraine’s Center for the Study of Occupation.