Key developments on March 24: * Russia launches nearly 1,000 drones in one of war's largest assaults, killing 7 and injuring 55 * Ukraine 'liquidates' hitman working for Russia's GRU, thwarts plot to assassinate high-profile figures, SBU says * Train passenger killed after 'refusing to evacuate' during Russian drone attack in Kharkiv Oblast * Zelensky warns Iran war 'emboldening' Russia after Ukraine meets Trump officials Russia launched nearly 1,000 attack drones against Ukraine over the

Since Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban returned to power 16 years ago, we have witnessed a dramatic change in his political stance towards Russia and the strengthening of Hungary's relationship with the Putin regime. The mouthpieces of the government and the propaganda machinery have moved from a critical position to open admiration towards the Russian strongman and the Russian Federation, which they see ready to take swift and decisive actions and describe as one of the last guardians of

“Why do you block the internet?” reads one of the comments under the latest post on Roskomnadzor’s official VKontakte social media page — a bland Women’s Day greeting from the very censorship agency leading Russia’s harshest crackdown on online communication in years. Russian authorities have set April as the target for finally blocking Telegram, one of the last popular international messenger apps still accessible in the country, and force users toward the Kremlin’s glitchy “national messenger

With air raid sirens and missile strikes part of daily life in Kyiv, many Iranians living in Ukraine found themselves watching another crisis unfold in their homeland — one that feels both distant and painfully familiar. Following the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran and the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with several senior figures of the regime, members of the small Iranian community in Kyiv say they are following events closely, balancing hope for political change with fear

Russia is constantly changing its tactics for massive strikes, "trying to find vulnerabilities" and break through Ukraine's air defenses, Serhii Flash said.

"Thanks to the SBU. I'm fine. Unlike the hitman. Russia should burn," Serhii Sternenko wrote on Telegram on March 24.

Tucker Carlson, a conservative commentator now under scrutiny in the U.S., has long drawn criticism in Ukraine for amplifying narratives aligned with the Kremlin — a record that is gaining fresh attention as he claims he could face criminal charges at home. "The CIA is preparing some kind of criminal referral against me, a crime report to the Department of Justice on the basis of a supposed crime I committed," Carlson said, adding that the allegations could stem from his contacts with individua

Russia launched a combined missile and drone attack on multiple Ukrainian cities overnight on March 24, local officials reported.

The number includes 890 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

"The geopolitical situation has become more complicated," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The 61-year-old passenger was killed by a Russian FPV drone.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 23 that Ukrainian intelligence believes Russian forces may be preparing a new, large-scale attack, and urged citizens to remain alert for air raid warnings.

Key developments on March 23: * Ukraine hits Russia's key Baltic Sea oil port, Bashkortostan oil refinery, General Staff confirms * Ukrainian defense tech firm lands first US-Ukraine 'minerals fund' deal * Ukraine has 'irrefutable evidence' of Russia providing intelligence to Iran, Zelensky says * Ukraine names Hungarian officer allegedly behind spy network busted in 2025 Ukrainian forces targeted the Transneft oil terminal at the port of Primorsk in Leningrad Oblast and the Bashneft-Ufane

Just over a year after a dramatic Oval Office clash derailed the now-infamous "minerals deal," the fund it spawned is making its first move, backing Ukraine's defense tech sector as global conflicts intensify. The first of three investments planned this year by the fund — officially known as the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund — will go to Sine Engineering, a Ukrainian dual-use military technology company, two people familiar with the deal told the Kyiv Independent. The deal is exp

EU diplomats are concerned about Hungary's contacts with the Kremlin following reports that Budapest may have shared information from EU meetings with Moscow. At the same time, they note that Hungary cannot be excluded from key discussions. The alarm follows reporting that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto briefed his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on discussions during EU meetings — a development that has reinforced long-standing suspicions within the bloc. Some officials have

Ukraine has tried, repeatedly, to clean up its courts — each attempt, however, has run into the same roadblocks. A handful of controversial judges have been dismissed, and some changes have been enacted. But beneath the surface, a powerful clique is digging in its heels, making sure attempts at changing the system are stalled. The latest reform cycle began in 2022, when the judiciary's two highest bodies — the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission — were re-launched. O

Neither Russia nor Iran has publicly reacted to Zelensky's claim at the time of publication. Zelensky's statement comes as the Middle East tensions surge in the fourth week of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

On the morning of March 16, a Russian Lancet drone was shot down by Ukrainian air defenses over central Kyiv. Its debris fell near the Monument of Independence. An examination of the wreckage revealed around 50 foreign-made components. Among the countries of origin were Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States, Germany, Japan, and South Korea, with several components manufactured after 2022. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has examined a wide range of weapons

The U.S. is holding off attacks against Iranian energy facilities for five days following "productive" talks with Iran on ending hostilities in the Middle East, Trump said.

Zoltan Andre, a staff member of Hungary's military intelligence, ran the network tasked with collecting information on military infrastructure and the political climate in Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast, the SBU said.

In Leningrad Oblast, a fire broke out at the port of Primorsk after a fuel tank was damaged, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said on March 22.

Ukrainian-born OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky has died aged 43 after a long battle with cancer, the company said on March 23.

Russian troops attempted to breach Ukrainian defenses across several sectors of the front line between March 17 and 20, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko earlier said that the U.S. had proposed a "big deal" to Belarus.

The suspect, a 21-year-old local resident recruited by Russian intelligence, was detained "within a few hours" after remotely detonating two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the Kyiv Oblast town, the SBU said.

Ukrainian defenses intercepted 234 out of the 251 drones launched by Russia overnight, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

Ukraine has increasingly pursued a strategy of "bringing the war back to Russia" — aiming to erode the perception that the full-scale invasion is distant and cost-free for Russian society. This approach was explicitly articulated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2025, as Ukraine significantly expanded its deep-strike campaign inside Russia. "The war was brought from Russia, and it is to Russia that the war must be pushed back. They must be the ones forced into peace. They are the ones who mu

The number includes 970 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

"We need to keep milking this cow, the Russian army, for everything it’s worth, exhausting it beyond its maximum capacity," Robert "Madyar" Brovdi told the Economist.

"Does Russia get more money if oil goes to $150 and they get 70% of that — that’s $105 — or if oil stays below $100, so they’re getting less money?" U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on March 22.

U.S. and Ukrainian officials met in Miami, Florida, on March 22 for a second day of talks aimed at brokering a peace deal with Moscow to end its four-year war.

"The only tangible outcome for the Russian army has been an increase in their losses...In just these seven days, there have already been more than 8,000 killed and seriously wounded Russian soldiers."