News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe

Ukraine is expected to receive 35 PAC-3 Patriot interceptor missiles in the coming weeks as Kyiv faces a shortage of air defense ammunition amid continued Russian missile attacks.

Janos Lazar, Hungary's construction and transport minister, has openly acknowledged a connection between the seizure of over $80 million worth of Ukrainian cash and gold last week and the suspension of oil shipments via Ukraine.

"Ukrainians will pay for that choice in blood," Alexander Kirk, a sanctions campaigner at the NGO Urgewald, told the Kyiv Independent.

Kyiv hopes to acquire PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors for Patriot air defenses in exchange, Zelensky told journalists.

Ukraine has nearly liberated the remaining Russian-occupied parts of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast after several weeks of counterattacks in the part of the front line where Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts meet.

The March 4 decree removes the deadline for residents of occupied Ukrainian territories to obtain Russian citizenship through a simplified process established by a 2022 Russian law, effectively making the policy permanent.

Lawmakers urged Hungary's government to "avoid sending money or weapons to Ukraine" and instead support "international peace efforts," Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs said.

Maksym Krippa, who has splashed out on several landmark properties in central Kyiv during wartime, secured 100% ownership of Ukrainian development firm Graal LLC on March 7 via his investment fund ARS Capital, according to state registry records.

Russia launched 137 drones against Ukraine overnight, the Air Force reported.

The number includes 950 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Russian overnight attacks on March 10 struck the Ukrainian cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv, leaving at least 20 people injured as emergency crews continue assessing the damage.