Ukraine expects no miracles from Hungary's April 12 elections. This weekend, Hungarian voters may end Viktor Orban's 16-year rule, potentially unblocking vital EU funding for Kyiv and its path toward membership. But the Hungarian prime minister — backed by both Washington and Moscow — has stacked the electoral playing field in his favor. And his main challenger, Tisza leader Peter Magyar, remains an unknown quantity for Ukraine. As the vote nears, the Kyiv Independent spoke to local experts a

Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev is currently in the United States holding meetings with officials from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, according to sources cited by Reuters.

At a March meeting on Operation Epic Fury, European Council President Antonio Costa said, "There is only one winner in this war: Russia." Europe is right to be worried about Russian gains in this war. But this analysis is short-sighted and overlooks a central fact: the Kremlin is watching a key chess piece slip from the board, and its anxiety, not Europe's, should dictate the terms of this conflict. Despite its modest effort to aid Iran, Russia has failed to meet operational objectives on the

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

According to Novaya Gazeta, masked special services officers arrived at 12 p.m. local time and as of 7 p.m. local time, the search was still ongoing.

The General Staff said the platforms supplied fuel to Russian forces, as Ukraine continues long-range strikes on energy infrastructure.

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.

Budanov warned that widespread draft evasion is threatening Ukraine's war effort, as tensions around mobilization grow following recent attacks on enlistment officers.

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

Ukraine appointed a new head of the country's customs service, fulfilling a long-delayed commitment to international partners as part of a reform push. Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko approved Orest Mandziy as head of the State Customs Service, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on April 10. Manziy was formerly a detective at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, or NABU. The country's customs service is widely seen as one of the most problematic government in

The group of MEPs, led by Lithuanian liberal Petras Austrevicius, wrote that their request was motivated by news that the Hungarian government was "deliberately sharing confidential information obtained during EU Council meetings with the Putin regime."

The suspect was detained in Odesa after authorities said they had tracked his movements and intercepted the assassination attempt targeting a senior Ukrainian Navy officer.

"Russia must not return to the international cultural space while the war continues. Ukraine will continue to defend this position on all international platforms," Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna wrote.

Speaking to journalists at a closed-door briefing on April 8, President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that such requests were made at "various levels," from the political to the military leadership.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has deployed military experts to multiple Middle Eastern countries, helping shoot down Iranian-made Shahed drones in exchange for fuel and interceptor drones.

President Volodymyr Zelensky's assessment, which cites new Russian military maps he reviewed with his top military chiefs, comes after Russia reported capturing the key logistics hub city of Pokrovsk in December 2025.

Russian forces launched 128 drones against Ukraine overnight, of which around 85 were Shahed-type drones, the Air Force said.

The number includes 1,130 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Zelensky said that it is "difficult to say" if the visit will happen soon or if the meeting will take place in another location involving all three negotiating teams.

Ukraine expects to complete the repairs of the Druzhba pipeline this spring, but the "responsibility for the supply itself will lie with the Europeans," Zelensky told journalists.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on April 9 that the question of Ukraine’s potential membership in the alliance is unlikely to be settled anytime soon due to a lack of political consensus among member states.

Hungary's opposition Tisza party holds a 13-point lead over Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz party ahead of the April 12 parliamentary elections, according to a public opinion poll released on April 9.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 9 announced a ceasefire for the upcoming Orthodox Easter weekend, after previously ignoring Ukraine's calls for a similar truce.

A majority of Hungarians want a shift in their country's foreign policy, and nearly half say they do not trust Prime Minister Viktor Orban, according to a new poll published April 9.

An oil pumping station in Krymsk, Krasnodar Krai, was struck by Ukrainian drones overnight on April 9, independent Telegram channel Astra reported.

Key developments on April 9: * Ukrainian drones strike oil pumping station in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, General Staff says * Russia plans to increase its Unmanned Systems Forces to 165,500 by the end of 2026, Syrskyi says * US ignores Iran-Russia cooperation because it 'trusts Putin,' Zelensky says * UK says it foiled undersea operation as Russian sub, frigate enter British waters * Ukraine repatriates 1,000 fallen soldiers in latest exchange An oil pumping station in Krymsk, Krasnodar Kra

In the days before Orthodox Easter in Soviet times, one Ukrainian historical researcher recalls children being lined up, their hands inspected for signs of forbidden dye. Teachers were searching for any sign that the children’s families had secretly celebrated the Christian holiday by decorating traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs, or pysanky as they're known in Ukrainian. "Making pysanky was banned… Anyone caught with dye stains was punished," recalled Yaroslava Muzychenko, a researcher at the

A party at a swanky downtown Kyiv restaurant feels a world away from the front lines of Russia's war against Ukraine. Yet its guests — defense analysts, consultants, and arms producers — are nonetheless shaping how the war is fought. The event's host was Skadi Law, a new firm focusing exclusively on Ukraine's fast-growing defense tech sector. Its arrival is not an isolated story, but part of a broader trend: an expanding network of venture capital funds, accelerators, consultancies, and media c

In a separate incident, a Russian frigate has escorted two sanctioned tankers through the English Channel, defying British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pledge to detain vessels linked to Moscow’s shadow fleet.

The move is part of Moldova's efforts to drift away from Russia's orbit and join the European Union.

"I said this publicly. Did we hear a reaction from the U.S. to Russia that they have to stop it?" President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview. "The problem is they trust Putin."

Ukraine has returned the bodies of 41 fallen Russian soldiers in exchange, the Kremlin-controlled TASS news agency reported on April 9, citing its source.