Russian forces launched a barrage of missiles and drones across Ukraine overnight on April 3, with strikes reported on the city of Kharkiv, officials.

Vice President J.D. Vance is set to visit Hungary on April 7–8 for bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Viktor Orban and to deliver remarks on U.S.–Hungary relations.

Belarusian lawmakers have approved a bill introducing penalties for what authorities describe as the promotion of homosexuality, gender transition, childlessness, and pedophilia, further tightening restrictions on LGBTQ+ expression in the country.

Ukrainian forces, with the help of military intelligence, struck multiple Russian military targets at the Kirovske airfield in occupied Crimea overnight on April 2, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said.

Ukraine has now survived four winters of systematic Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure. This past winter was especially challenging. The United Nations documented near-daily strikes on energy infrastructure across 17 regions in January alone. In Kyiv, repeated attacks on two combined heat and power plants cut central heating to nearly 6,000 residential buildings each time. All 15 of Ukraine's thermal power plants have now been damaged or destroyed. Yet Ukraine managed to adapt — and

Key developments on April 2: * An-26 crash in occupied Crimea kills Russian general, BBC reports * Lviv Customs inspector suspected in killing of enlistment officer, police say * Russia's Gazprom claims Ukrainian strikes on TurkStream pipeline * Melania Trump helps return of 7 Ukrainian children taken by Russia Russian Lieutenant-General Aleksandr Otroshchenko was one of those aboard the An-26 transport plane that crashed in Russian-occupied Crimea on March 31, BBC's Russian Service report

The police received a report of the attack on a service member at around 2:15 p.m. local time. The victim later died in the hospital from his injuries.

The plane had crashed into the mountains of the occupied peninsula, killing 29 military personnel on board, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"I am encouraged that both sides remain committed toongoing cooperation, raising the safety and well-being of children above this abhorrent war," the First Lady said in her statement.

Ukraine's imports of electricity dropped by 25% in March compared to the previous month, as the country emerges from a devastating winter brought on by Russian attacks on the energy grid.

The move is a "natural and inevitable step towards European integration," the Moldovan parliament said.

According to Gazprom, the Russkaya compression station, located in Krasnodar Krai near the Black Sea coast, was undamaged as all drones were shot down.

"Where did the (first) oil shipment come from? A Russian vessel broke through the blockade," Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov said.

A mechanized attack by Ukraine's 425th Assault Regiment — better known as Skelia — outside Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast has sparked a wave of criticism from key Ukrainian figures online concerning the unnecessary loss of manpower in reckless assaults. On April 1, Serhii Sternenko — one of the most prominent Ukrainian volunteers providing support to the military and recently named advisor to newly-appointed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov — spoke out about the failed attack the previous night, s

"It should be obvious and honestly stated upfront that membership in a customs union with both the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is impossible," Putin said publicly during his meeting with Pashinyan on April 1.

The number includes 1,300 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in the Russian city of Ufa in the early hours of April 2, independent media reported.

The address marked Trump's first major speech on the war since the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strike on Feb. 28. It comes as Trump faces backlash at home — and unenthusiastic support abroad — for the U.S. war in Iran.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on April 1 that its forces had "completed" the occupation of Luhansk Oblast. The Ukrainian military dismissed the claim as propaganda.

Russian authorities say a cattle epidemic that swept parts of Siberia since February is now under control and caused by a relatively minor bacterial infection, pasteurellosis. But veterinarians and independent journalists question that account, pointing to containment measures — mass animal slaughter, village lockdowns, and secrecy — that more closely resemble a response to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a far more serious and economically damaging outbreak. The discrepancy has fueled resistanc

Outraged at European countries' refusal to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump threatened to halt the PURL program selling U.S. weapons to NATO for use in Ukraine, officials told the Financial Times.

Key developments on April 1: * Russia launches mass daytime drone attack on western, central Ukraine * Zelensky pitches Easter ceasefire to US negotiators as Russia continues attacks * Russia tells Zelensky to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Donbas 'already today' * Russia's new fiber-optic sea drone 'Skarlupa' deployed in combat, Kremlin media claims * Russian An-26 transport aircraft crashes over occupied Crimea, killing 29 Russia launched a mass daytime drone attack on Ukraine's western

Ukraine's interceptor drones are now one of the most sought-after defense technologies on the planet. But that success carries an uncomfortable caveat: every countermeasure Ukraine developed prompted Russia to field a harder, faster, and more capable Shahed in response. That cycle will not stop as long as the factories producing these drones remain uncontested. Whatever mutated variant emerges next — shaped by every innovation Ukraine threw at its predecessor — will continue to attack Ukrainia

"A pause on Easter could serve as a signal to everyone that diplomacy can succeed," Zelensky said.

U.S. President Donald Trump called NATO a "paper tiger" and said Russian President Vladimir Putin shares that opinion.

Vessels of Russia's shadow fleet are using Starlink to communicate and coordinate, a Kyiv Independent investigation has revealed.

Russian officials have suggested that such drones could be supplied to “friendly nations."

Telegram channels monitoring Ukraine's airspace reported that over 80 drones were in the country's airspace.

The U.S. would consider the request only "when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear," President Donald Trump said.

The Kyiv Independent’s Martin Fornusek speaks with Slovakia’s former foreign minister Ivan Korcok about the country’s stance on Ukraine under Prime Minister Robert Fico, and what it means for Slovakia’s role within the EU and NATO.

The FSB may begin monitoring Russian IT companies for possible VPN use, with non-compliant companies facing penalties, Kommersant reported.

Ukraine started 2026 with a sigh of relief. Positive news on debt restructuring, IMF aid disbursement, bumper foreign exchange reserves, and most importantly, a last-minute compromise €90 bn loan from the EU, suggested that Kyiv would have a moment to catch its breath. Three months on, and this optimism is firmly in the rearview mirror. Hungarian and Slovakian obstruction has derailed progress on loan disbursement, reforms needed for unlocking critical multilateral institution financing remain