Shahed drones

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Key Ukraine events (13-19 April): Easter ceasefire, security agreements with Gulf countries

Editor's note: This article is a shortened on-site version of KI Insights' public newsletter. Sign up here to start your week with an agenda of Ukraine-related events delivered directly to your inbox every Friday. The Week Ahead Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. The week ahead will be shaped by uncertainty around a proposed Easter ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Diplomatic activity may intensify, including a potential visit of U.S. envoys to Kyiv. At the same

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (left) and U.S. businessman Jared Kushner (center) in Davos on January 19, 2026.

Inside Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s infiltration assaults in the south

Fighting in southern Ukraine remains intense as Russian forces continue attempts to advance in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, particularly around the town of Huliaipole. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Nick Allard spent time with Ukraine’s 225th Separate Assault Regiment, one of the units tasked with stabilizing this critical section of the front.

Enough European countries now back court to prosecute Putin's aggression

At least 17 European countries are ready to commit to a special tribunal tasked with prosecuting the crime of aggression against Ukraine, passing a critical threshold that allows the idea to progress at a Council of Europe meeting in May. The Kyiv Independent has learned that, in addition to the 14 supporting European countries noted publicly by Iryna Mudra, deputy head of the president's office, three more countries are ready to back the tribunal, bringing the total to 17, above the required m

Russian President Vladimir Putin in an undisclosed location, Russia, on March 30, 2026.

About Shahed drones

Shahed drones are Iranian-designed unmanned combat aerial vehicles and loitering munitions developed by Shahed Aviation Industries. Manufactured both in Iran and at Russian production facilities, the drones have become one of Russia’s primary weapons in its full-scale war against Ukraine. Russia first deployed Shahed drones against Ukraine in the fall of 2022, and their use has since escalated, with Moscow launching more than 54,500 Shahed-type UAVs against Ukrainian targets in 2025 alone.

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Editor’s Note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first name and call sign only. ZAPORIZHZHIA OBLAST – For tonight's clearing mission on the cold windy steppe of southern Ukraine, the munition of choice is the Spear. In a cramped dugout less than eight kilometers from Russian forces, Ukrainian soldiers prepare the bombs, taping wires and tail fins onto long tubes of black steel fitted with menacing iron spikes

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