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

The vessels are old, their hulls streaked with rust, and their ownership obscured behind layers of shell companies. Yet the tankers that make up Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, the armada used to move sanctioned oil across the globe, are kept running with modern Western technology including Starlink, an investigation by the Kyiv Independent can reveal. To gain an insight into how the shadow fleet operates, the Kyiv Independent spoke to two Ukrainian sailors who claim they unwittingly became p

"Zelensky must make a decision already today to withdraw Ukrainian troops," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia launched 339 drones at Ukraine overnight, including around 200 Shahed-type long-range drones, the Air Force said.

Rosneft's net income fell by 73% to 293 billion rubles ($3.6 billion) last year due to high taxes and interest rates, as well as geopolitical factors, the company said.

A Russian An-26 transport aircraft crashed in occupied Crimea late on March 31, Russian Telegram media channels reported, killing 29 military personnel on board.

Russia attacked the city of Khmelnytskyi overnight on April 1, damaging a commercial site and a residential building was damaged by shelling in Lutsk, authorities and media reported.

The number includes 1,060 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

The European Union will provide an additional 80 million euros ($92 million) in profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas announced on March 31.

Hungary's parliamentary election campaign ahead of the April 12 vote is being fought even beyond the country's borders — and with an unexpected reversal of roles. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has shown restraint toward Slovakia's left-nationalist prime minister, Robert Fico, while Orban's main challenger, Peter Magyar, has adopted nationalist rhetoric, presenting himself as a defender of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. In doing so, Magyar and his Tisza party accuse Orban not only of corrupt