United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on March 21 that by releasing the 140 million barrels of sanctioned Iranian oil that China is hoarding at low prices, the U.S. could quickly ease temporary supply pressures in global markets.

The number includes 1,240 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Russian citizens Yurii Korzhavin and Lidiya Korzhavina were removed from the U.S. sanctions list on March 20, along with other individuals and entities linked to Russia. The Korzhavins were sanctioned in 2024 for their ties to the Russian transport and logistics company Elfor TL.

Nearly 30 drones were shot down over Moscow and the surrounding region on March 20-21, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed. Hundreds of Ukrainian drones have reportedly targeted Moscow in the past week.

The attacks targeted the cities of Saratov and Engels in Saratov Oblast and Tolyatti in Samara Oblast. The towns host key Russian military and industrial assets, including the Saratov oil refinery and Engels-2 military airfield.

The facility belongs to Czech defense firm LPP Holding, which manufactures AI drones used on the battlefield in Ukraine. The investigation follows reports that a group protesting Israeli weapons claimed responsibility.

Volodymyr Balukh, a political activist and former political prisoner, was reportedly beaten at a military recruitment center in Kyiv.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said the Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant in Russian-occupied Luhansk oblast was hit during overnight operations on March 20.

Key developments on March 20: * Russian Ka-52 helicopter shot down by FPV drone in Donetsk Oblast * Russia reportedly offers to halt intel sharing with Iran if US stops with Ukraine * Ukraine heads to US with drone proposal Trump dismissed before war with Iran * Russia uses failed exams to funnel students into army in occupied territories Ukrainian drone operators destroyed a Russian Ka-52 "Alligator" attack helicopter using an FPV (first-person view) drone in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine's Unm

The U.S. has rejected the proposal, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with the U.S.-Russia negotiations.

Editor's note: This article is a shortened on-site version of KI Insights' public newsletter, The Week Ahead, covering events from March 23-29. Sign up here to start your week with an agenda of Ukraine-related events delivered directly to your inbox every week. Audio version of The Week Ahead is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Ukraine's delegation is set to take part in talks in the United States this weekend, March 21–22. Meanwhile, the Russian side has announced a paus

The latest strike brings the total number of Russian helicopters shot down by Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion to 350, according to the General Staff.

Russia is extensively militarizing Ukrainian children and youth in the occupied territories to "raise future soldiers" and involve them in the fight against their own people, Taya Avram, a lawyer within the Donbas SOS NGO, told the Kyiv Independent on March 20.

Russia’s takeover of Crimea did not begin in 2014. In the second part of "Crimea: The War Before the War," the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit examines how Moscow moved from early pressure to direct attempts to seize Ukrainian territory.

Ukrainian negotiators traveling to the U.S. on March 20 will present the Trump administration with a proposal for expanded drone cooperation, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in response to a question from the Kyiv Independent. The initiative centers on sharing Ukraine's battle-tested drone technology — particularly systems designed to counter Iranian-made Shahed-type attack drones — at a time when the U.S. faces similar threats in the Middle East. The push reflects Kyiv's broader strategy to

The proceeds from director Chloe Zhao's fundraiser will benefit Animal Rescue Kharkiv, a nonprofit organization (NGO).

"The war involving Iran will not deflect France from its support for Ukraine, where Russia’s war of aggression continues unabated," French President Emmanuel Macron said on March 20.

Yaroslav Lysenko allegedly ordered at least seven service members to leave their units beginning in September 2024 and assigned them to renovation and construction work, according to the State Investigation Bureau (DBR).

Filaret Denysenko co-founded the unrecognized Kyiv Patriarchate in 1992 and was the patriarch of Ukraine from 1995 to 2018.

Russian forces launched 156 drones against Ukraine overnight, of which over 90 were Shahed-type, the Air Force said, reporting that Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 133.

The authoritarian regimes of China, Iran, and North Korea are actively engaged in reshaping the economy within Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, a new report has revealed. The Eastern Human Rights Group and the Institute for Strategic Research and Security published an analytical report last week that features the role of Russia's allies in the economic reorientation of all Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia since 2014 and during the full-scale invasion. The report indicates that

The number includes 1,610 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Russia is considering escorting its shadow fleet vessels with naval warships, a senior Kremlin aide said March 19, amid increased Western scrutiny of Moscow's clandestine network of ships used to bypass sanctions.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said Slovakia may take further measures against Ukraine after a halt in Russian oil supplies, which he said has triggered a “state of emergency” in the country’s oil sector.

The unnamed project, lacking a defined team or political platform, seeks to offer an alternative to the Kremlin at a time when Russia's opposition operates largely from abroad and remains fractured, with its ability to influence domestic politics remaining low.

Key developments on March 19: * Ukraine’s negotiating team heads to US for planned meeting this weekend, Zelensky announces * Major Russian air defense factory in occupied Crimea reportedly hit in Ukrainian strike * Russian losses surge, Ukrainian commander claims hundreds of soldiers 'picked off' by drones * Ukraine edges closer to budget oblivion as Orban refuses to budge on 90-billion loan President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 19 that a Ukrainian negotiating team is heading to the

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 19 that a Ukrainian negotiating team is heading to the United States for a meeting scheduled for Saturday, as efforts continue to revive stalled peace talks.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban continued to oppose a 90-billion-euro loan to Ukraine at a gathering of European leaders in Brussels today, according to two EU diplomats familiar with today's discussions.

Marchenko was charged in 2023 with receiving an $11,300 bribe for allegedly influencing regional officials to allow men eligible for military service to go abroad. She was expelled from Zelensky's Servant of the People party.

In early February, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) released a report that barely made headlines. Yet for those paying close attention to Belarus and the region, the document carried a revealing signal about the Kremlin's concerns. The report claimed that Western governments were attempting to weaken the alliance between Minsk and Moscow — and ultimately stage political change in Belarus. According to the SVR, the West was allegedly trying to build a new Belarusian opposition movem

Hungary is heading into what could be its most consequential election in decades — and Ukraine has become a central issue in the campaign. The Kyiv Independent’s Martin Fornusek reports from Budapest, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban, after 16 years in power, is facing his strongest challenge yet from opposition leader Peter Magyar.

Ukraine's central bank kept its key rate unchanged at 15% on March 19, as an unexpected bump in inflation and war in the Middle East cause the bank to err on the side of caution.