http://feed.informer.com/digests/PAZ5XAQQ1J/feeder Russia and Ukraine News Review Respective post owners and feed distributors Tue, 27 Nov 2018 05:28:04 -0500 Feed Informer http://feed.informer.com/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/world/middleeast/russia-us-oil-sanctions.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:7c1fe154-d92d-0bdc-f319-600958b3fec5 Sat, 18 Apr 2026 16:42:21 -0400 The Trump administration has loosened restrictions on Russian oil exports since the war in the Middle East began to rattle energy markets in March. US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026) Treasury Department Bessent, Scott Russia Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline Trump, Donald J Ashley Ahn https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/terrorist-attack-kyiv-ukraine World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:6084626b-94bc-e10b-6d13-0629da149103 Sat, 18 Apr 2026 16:19:53 -0400 <p>The gunman, who killed six people in Kyiv before police shot him dead, was a Ukrainian citizen born in Moscow</p><p>Ukrainian investigators are examining whether a terrorist attack in Kyiv was directed by Moscow after a man shot dead six people on Saturday before he was killed by police.</p><p>The gunman, 58, opened fire on passersby before barricading himself in a supermarket and taking hostages. Detectives sealed off the area in the Holosiivskyi district and tried to negotiate with him. He refused and was killed after a 40-minute standoff.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/terrorist-attack-kyiv-ukraine">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Kyiv Russia Volodymyr Zelenskyy Europe Luke Harding in Kyiv Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/russian-blogger-fierce-kremlin-critique-goes-viral World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:d9c7cfee-5c45-07d2-e5cd-2d79b17e3cd9 Sat, 18 Apr 2026 04:00:07 -0400 <p>Victoria Bonya says authorities too scared to raise issues with Vladimir Putin, whose approval ratings are declining</p><p>The Kremlin is grappling with the fallout from the viral spread of a celebrity blogger’s criticism of Russian authorities, as Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings register their sixth consecutive weekly decline.</p><p>Victoria Bonya, a household name in Russia who rose to fame in 2006 on <em>Dom-2</em>, the country’s answer to the reality TV show Big Brother, posted a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXFiPlrCBdS/">video</a> on Monday warning the Russian president that a string of mounting problems risked spiralling out of control.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/russian-blogger-fierce-kremlin-critique-goes-viral">Continue reading...</a> Russia Vladimir Putin World news Europe Ukraine Pjotr Sauer Photograph: Stéphane Mahé/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/ukraine-hungary-election-magyar-orban-europe World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:dedbb0d7-22fa-0ccb-dbbc-2308e683f7c8 Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:03 -0400 <p>As Orbán is rejected, there is cautious optimism new leader can restore ties – but issues such as EU accession loom large</p><p>Like many Ukrainians, Oleh Kupchak was delighted when Péter Magyar won Hungary’s election last weekend, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/12/viktor-orban-concedes-defeat-as-opposition-wins-hungarian-election">ending Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power</a>. “We were euphoric. Everyone was following the results closely. There were toasts,” said Kupchak, who has visited Budapest several times. “We didn’t love Orbán,” he added.</p><p>Ukraine celebrated Orbán’s landslide defeat in a series of jokes and memes. Several likened him to the <a href="https://24tv.ua/vibori-ugorshhini-merezha-vibuhnula-memami-cherez-porazku-orbana_n3047918/amp">Star Wars character Jabba the Hut</a>, and shared an <a href="https://www.threads.com/@a_vasjanovich/post/DXD3BrfCHrg?xmt=AQF0nsbJNB6Xq9jFbYViPYg7gqwAReRMgx9en6XHPXPaP0om-Ao_9C4wQLcifZipb0rR8DwD&amp;slof=1">image of Orbán fleeing from a drone</a>. Others portrayed him sitting on a bench in Russia, alongside Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin former president Viktor Yanukovych, and his exiled Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/ukraine-hungary-election-magyar-orban-europe">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Hungary Europe World news Viktor Orbán European Union Luke Harding in Kyiv Photograph: Bernadett Szabó/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/ukraine-war-briefing-russia-seeking-to-bring-belarus-back-into-the-war-says-zelenskyy Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:9f434928-d52c-7a4d-5261-b06e1cbc50b0 Fri, 17 Apr 2026 20:46:25 -0400 <p>Building of artillery positions and roads suggest fresh military efforts likely from the north, says Ukrainian president. What we know on day 1,514</p><p><strong>Infrastructure preparations suggest Russia is again trying to involve its ally Belarus in the war,</strong> Volodymyr<strong> </strong>Zelenskyy said on Friday. The Ukrainian president made his remarks, posted on Telegram, in response to what he said was an intelligence report issued by Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi. “According to intelligence, road construction in areas leading to Ukraine and the establishment of artillery positions are going on in the Belarusian border area,” Zelenskyy wrote. “We believe that Russia will once again try to involve Belarus in its war.” He said Ukraine had issued instructions to warn the Belarusian leadership of “Ukraine’s readiness to defend its land and independence”. Zelenskyy also said intelligence showed that Russia was “attempting ... to carry out a regrouping of forces - most likely to compensate for a shortage of personnel”. “In this regard, it becomes more evident why the armed forces increased their activity on the territory of Belarus.” He did not provide further evidence. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, one of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, allowed his territory to be used for part of Russia’s February 2022 invasion.</p><p><strong>Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s wartime experience in the Black Sea could help to ensure freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz.</strong> “Decisions made regarding Hormuz now will determine how other aggressive actors perceive the possibility of creating problems in other straits and on other fronts,” he said in remarks to a video conference attended by 50 countries and chaired by France and Britain. “We need to be as specific and clear as possible so that in six months we don’t find ourselves in the same situation as in Gaza, where much still needs to be done.” Zelenskyy, whose remarks appeared on the Telegram messaging app, said that in the course of four years of war with Russia, Ukraine had “already carried out a very similar mission in the Black Sea”. He said: “Russia also attempted to blockade our sea and we have experience in escorting merchant vessels, demining, defending against air attacks and the overall coordination of such operations.” Ukraine, he said, had sent specialists throughout the Middle East to help countries benefit from its experience in defending against Russian drones, many designed in Iran. “We can also contribute to maritime security,” Zelenskyy said. Ukraine has clinched security cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and says it is in talks with Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.</p><p><strong>A fire broke out at an oil terminal in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region, prompting a large firefighting operation</strong>, the region’s emergency operational headquarters said early on Saturday. Officials said 224 firefighters and 56 vehicles were battling the blaze at the terminal in Tikhoretsk, north-east of the region’s main town, Krasnodar. No casualties were reported and there was no indication as to what may have caused the fire. Syskyi said this week that Ukrainian forces were seeking to reduce Russia’s offensive capabilities by keeping up a high pace of strikes on military, defence-industrial and other facilities. In March, Ukraine struck 76 such targets including 15 facilities in the oil-refining industry, the top commander said.</p><p><strong>Serbia’s Russian-owned NIS oil company has secured a 60-day sanctions waiver from the US.</strong> The waiver will allow NIS, which operates Serbia’s only oil refinery, to continue importing crude oil until the sale of the Russian majority stake to Hungary’s MOL. The previous one-month waiver expired on Friday. The US imposed sanctions on NIS in October last year as part of wider measures targeting Russia’s energy sector over the war in Ukraine, and demanded divestment of Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, its Russian majority owners. Serbian energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic called the latest move a sign of progress in the negotiations on the change of ownership between the Hungarian MOL and the Russian Gazprom Neft.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/ukraine-war-briefing-russia-seeking-to-bring-belarus-back-into-the-war-says-zelenskyy">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe Volodymyr Zelenskyy Guardian staff and agencies Photograph: Mykhaylo Palinchak/SOPA Images/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/17/sanctions-regime-change-iran-russia-western-countries Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:b23923f2-bcd1-9b53-ecaa-04d3d1ea0be0 Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:19:41 -0400 <p>Dissent cannot take hold in soil rendered barren by emigration and embargo. Political opposition needs academic and cultural exchange if it is to prosper</p><p>The chancellor of the exchequer and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3v670qwz97o">the IMF agree</a>. Britain’s economy is about to take its greatest hit for decades. This is collateral damage from the US’s war on Iran and the closing of the strait of Hormuz – and will be made worse by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-targets-irans-oil-transportation-infrastructure-with-sanctions-2026-04-15/">sanctioning</a> <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/14/sanctioned-tankers-transit-strait-of-hormuz-despite-blockade">Gulf oil exports</a>. Britain has already been weakened by <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/russia-sanctions-database/">four years of sanctions against Russia</a> over Ukraine. Now its economic growth is to be crushed, its government’s popularity is plummeting<strong> </strong>and its prime minister may face removal.</p><p>This was what sanctions were supposed to do to the enemy, not to the UK. Their unprecedented severity was to teach Vladimir Putin the error of his ways. His friends were to plead with him to stop. Yet, in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68823399#:~:text=Russia%20is%20one%20of%20the,to%20the%20UK%20despite%20sanctions.&amp;text=Away%20from%20Russia%2C%20the%20IMF,the%20UK%2C%22%20he%20said.">the years</a> after sanctions took hold, Russia’s rate of economic growth was higher than Britain’s. Meanwhile, sanctions <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2025)777928">against Iran in the 2010s</a> were meant to halt its nuclear programme. They appeared to encourage it. Now they are meant to undermine the Tehran regime and topple the ayatollahs. There seems to be little chance of that.</p><p>Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/17/sanctions-regime-change-iran-russia-western-countries">Continue reading...</a> Iran UK news Russia Europe World news US-Israel war on Iran US foreign policy Foreign policy Middle East and north Africa Simon Jenkins Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/17/ukraine-war-briefing-90bn-eu-loan-russia World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:33f5e53d-1b50-6016-1e40-9b30fd4976db Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:19:33 -0400 <p>EU economy commissioner says Iran war is feeding Russia’s war machine; Trump condemns massive strikes on Ukraine. What we know on day 1,513</p><p><strong>The EU expects to start releasing a new €90bn loan to Ukraine in the second quarter, the bloc’s economy chief told AFP on Thursday.</strong> The EU’s economy commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, was speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s spring meetings, which brought finance ministers, central bankers and other leaders to Washington. “Our support for Ukraine, also continued pressure and sanctions against aggressor Russia was very much part of the agenda,” Dombrovskis said. He warned that Moscow was “emerging as a winner from this war in Iran, because it provides windfall profits to feed Russia’s war machine”.</p><p><strong>Russia hammered civilian areas across Ukraine with drones and missiles on Thursday, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-attack-ukraine-drones-missiles-kyiv-odesa-volodymyr-zelenskyy">killing at least 17 people</a></strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-attack-ukraine-drones-missiles-kyiv-odesa-volodymyr-zelenskyy"> </a>and wounding more than 100 others in the worst aerial attack in weeks, Ukrainian authorities said. Nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles were used, as Ukrainian officials said vital stocks of advanced interceptors were running low.</p><p><strong>Donald Trump on Thursday condemned a massive Russian drone and missile attack across Ukraine that ripped</strong> through apartment buildings in the capital, Kyiv. Asked by reporters at the White House for his reaction to the barrage, Trump said: “I think it’s terrible.”</p><p><strong>It is not in the interest of the US that Russia is the winner of the Iran war, the German vice chancellor, Lars Klingbeil, said on Thursday in Washington.</strong> “It’s not in our interest and it cannot be in the interest of the United States,” he said in a joint statement with the finance ministers of Ukraine and Norway on the sidelines of the IMF spring meetings. Klingbeil said the Russian economy was growing thanks to the Middle East conflict and the country was profitting from the energy situation. As the conflict in the Middle East dominated the gathering of finance officials at the IMF in Washington, the ministers of Norway, Germany and Ukraine spoke about not forgetting to support Ukraine in its defence against Russia. “All the meetings here are about the question of what’s happening with the war in Iran, and I think it’s really important we show solidarity with our friends in Ukraine,” Klingbeil said.</p><p><strong>The heads of the EU and Nato on Thursday discussed efforts to bolster Europe’s arms production, as Donald Trump threw doubt on Washington’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance.</strong> “We need to invest more, to produce more and to do both faster,” the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, posted online after meeting Nato’s chief, Mark Rutte. European nations are scrambling to bolster their militaries in the face of Russia’s war on Ukraine and pressure from Trump.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/17/ukraine-war-briefing-90bn-eu-loan-russia">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia World news Europe International Monetary Fund (IMF) European Union Economics Business Nato US-Israel war on Iran Guardian staff Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/world/europe/europe-ukraine-aid-iran.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:227cbaf7-4f74-d740-c6b8-d1903ec6e320 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:09:32 -0400 The focus in recent weeks has been on the conflict in Iran, but European leaders said it was crucial to keep aid flowing to Ukraine. Foreign Aid Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026) United States Politics and Government International Relations Defense and Military Forces North Atlantic Treaty Organization Fedorov, Mykhailo Pistorius, Boris Rutte, Mark Trump, Donald J Vance, J D Berlin (Germany) Russia Ukraine Iran Steven Erlanger https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/business/pentagon-ford-general-motors-defense-production.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:7c088c97-d4b6-ce7a-0e5d-bc08527470c2 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:23:00 -0400 Concerned about the slow pace and high cost of weapons production, Pentagon officials have begun talks with General Motors and Ford Motor about producing certain parts. United States Defense and Military Forces Automobiles US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026) Prices (Fares, Fees and Rates) United States Politics and Government Factories and Manufacturing Government Contracts and Procurement Defense Contracts Supply Chain Missiles and Missile Defense Systems Defense Department Ford Motor Co General Motors Hegseth, Pete Trump, Donald J Iran Russia Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) 3-D Printers Stratasys Inc Farah Stockman, Neal E. Boudette and John Ismay https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000010844325/russia-ukraine-attacks.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:32581730-5007-0a78-26f4-a3038ad06622 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:57:25 -0400 At least 15 people died after Russia flew more than 700 drones and missiles across Ukrainian cities, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Russia Ukraine Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Drones (Pilotless Planes) Missiles and Missile Defense Systems Defense and Military Forces Monika Cvorak https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/16/europe-russia-zelenskyy-ukraine-nato-rutte-merz-magyar-latest-updates World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:0c71e818-fb25-2b0f-61a3-8594365333ba Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:45:04 -0400 <p>Ukrainian president says nearly 700 Russian drones and 19 ballistic missiles mostly targeted Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipro</p><p>German chancellor <strong>Friedrich Merz</strong> and Irish prime minister <strong>Micheál Martin </strong>are now speaking at a press conference after their meeting in Berlin.</p><p>Let’s listen in.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/16/europe-russia-zelenskyy-ukraine-nato-rutte-merz-magyar-latest-updates">Continue reading...</a> Europe Ukraine Russia Nato Germany European Commission Hungary Péter Magyar Jakub Krupa Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/16/europe-russia-zelenskyy-ukraine-nato-rutte-merz-magyar-latest-updates World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:9efcb5be-5219-5100-9095-7d57af0f6f7a Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:45:04 -0400 <p>Ukrainian president says nearly 700 Russian drones and 19 ballistic missiles mostly targeted Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipro</p><p>German chancellor <strong>Friedrich Merz</strong> and Irish prime minister <strong>Micheál Martin </strong>are now speaking at a press conference after their meeting in Berlin.</p><p>Let’s listen in.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/16/europe-russia-zelenskyy-ukraine-nato-rutte-merz-magyar-latest-updates">Continue reading...</a> Europe Ukraine Russia Nato Germany European Commission Hungary Péter Magyar Jakub Krupa Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-attack-ukraine-drones-missiles-kyiv-odesa-volodymyr-zelenskyy World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:016c432c-7e10-0a04-fac9-3cd8929d75bf Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:22:38 -0400 <p>More than 100 injured across country after Russia launches nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/16/europe-russia-zelenskyy-ukraine-nato-rutte-merz-magyar-latest-updates">Europe live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>Russia has carried out its deadliest attack against Ukraine this year, killing at least 17 people, and injuring more than 100, in a wave of drone and missile strikes across the country.</p><p>Nine people died in the southern port city of Odesa, with four killed in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old boy. There were three fatalities in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Another person died in Zaporizhzhia oblast.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-attack-ukraine-drones-missiles-kyiv-odesa-volodymyr-zelenskyy">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Volodymyr Zelenskyy Europe World news Luke Harding in Kyiv Photograph: Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/world/europe/russia-ukraine-missile-drone-attacks.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:ea73185a-388e-1f76-9b28-104c83101a20 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:00:45 -0400 Moscow is again ramping up missile and drone attacks on civilian targets, dispelling any notion that a temporary cease-fire for Orthodox Easter might become more lasting. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Civilian Casualties Missiles and Missile Defense Systems Easter and Holy Week Deaths (Fatalities) Defense and Military Forces Putin, Vladimir V Zelensky, Volodymyr Russia Ukraine internal-open-access-from-nl Kim Barker and Oleksandra Mykolyshyn https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2026/apr/16/everything-flew-ukrainians-describe-russian-attack-on-apartment-block-video World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:cd02373c-b3be-3257-1449-72501e35f459 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:28:52 -0400 <p>Russian strikes killed at least 12 people in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine">Ukraine</a>, local authorities have said, after Moscow pummelled its neighbour during the night with drones and missiles. </p><p>In Odesa, Russian strikes killed six people, according to the head of the city’s military administration. </p><p>Strikes on the capital, Kyiv, killed at least four people, including a 12-year-old, the state emergency service of Ukraine said, while another two people died in the central city of Dnipro, according to Oleksandr Ganzha, the head of the regional administration</p><p></p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-drone-missile-strikes-ukraine-kyiv-dnipro"><strong>Russia pummels Ukraine with drone and missile strikes, killing at least 12</strong></a></p></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2026/apr/16/everything-flew-ukrainians-describe-russian-attack-on-apartment-block-video">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe Photograph: EPA https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-drone-missile-strikes-ukraine-kyiv-dnipro World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:91b79689-5bf7-2a73-89ca-87c2714e6086 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:48:33 -0400 <p>Missile and drone attacks on the port city of Odesa killed six people, with other fatalities recorded in Kyiv and Dnipro</p><p>Russian strikes killed at least 12 people in Ukraine, local authorities have said, after Moscow pummelled its neighbour in overnight attacks.</p><p>Missile and drone attacks on the southern port city of Odesa killed six people, the head of the city’s military administration, Sergiy Lysak, wrote on Telegram on Thursday.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-drone-missile-strikes-ukraine-kyiv-dnipro">Continue reading...</a> Russia Ukraine Europe World news Agence France-Presse Photograph: Serhii Okunev/AFP/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-drone-missile-strikes-ukraine-kyiv-dnipro World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:96933d11-4630-f2b2-f8fc-e0072114eb55 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:29:05 -0400 <p>Two killed, including a child, in Kyiv with another death in the city of Dnipro amid strikes across the country</p><p>Russian forces attacked Kyiv and other cities early on Thursday, killing three people, including a 12-year-old child, injuring more than 20 and badly damaging buildings, officials said.</p><p>Moscow has fired hundreds of drones on its neighbour almost nightly since the beginning of the four-year war, and recently expanded daytime strikes.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/russia-drone-missile-strikes-ukraine-kyiv-dnipro">Continue reading...</a> Russia Ukraine Europe Agence France-Presse Photograph: Gleb Garanich/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/ukraine-war-briefing-netherlands-to-spend-almost-300m-on-making-drones-for-ukraine World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:0f809a21-11f1-6a27-58fd-eb44ad1d2838 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:24:38 -0400 <p>Nato promises not to lose sight of Ukraine conflict; Russia attacks Kyiv. What we know on day 1,512</p><p><strong>The Netherlands will spend 248m euros ($293m) on producing drones for Ukraine, Dutch defence minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius said on Wednesday.</strong> “Drones play a crucial role on the modern battlefield. Ukrainians deploy them with incredible skill to repel the incessant Russian attacks,” she said after meeting her counterparts from Nato countries and the alliance’s secretary general Mark Rutte in Berlin on Wednesday. “Thanks to the good cooperation with Ukraine, we are learning directly from this. This also offers opportunities for our business community,” she added. The drones will be manufactured in the Netherlands and Ukraine.</p><p><strong>Rutte and Kyiv’s top allies vowed Wednesday they would not lose sight of Ukraine’s conflict with Russia and called on others to urgently boost their support for the country.</strong> With the outbreak of the US-Israel war against Iran, fears have grown that international support for Kyiv is waning, more than four years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion. American-led talks to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since the second world war have stalled since the start of the Middle East war, at a time US support for Ukraine was already weakening under US president Donald Trump.</p><p><strong>Russia’s defence ministry warned on Wednesday that European plans to step up drone supplies to Ukraine are dragging those countries deeper into a war with Russia.</strong> The ministry said it believes governments in a number of EU countries have decided to increase the production and supply of drones to Ukraine, a move Moscow views as a step that is escalating the conflict. It published a list of factories and enterprises in several European countries it alleges manufacture drones or drone components, and gave their addresses, including sites in Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Israel and Poland, among others.</p><p><strong>Russian forces attacked Ukrainian capital Kyiv with missiles early on Thursday, killing a 12-year-old child, injuring several people, including emergency crew members, and damaging buildings, mayor Vitali Klitschko said</strong>. “As a result of the enemy attack, a 12-year-old child has been killed,” Klitschko wrote on Telegram. “At the moment, 10 people are injured. That includes several medics.” He said a large fire had broken out in a building in the Obolon district in the north of the capital, while debris had fallen in several locations. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city’s military administration, said at least four people had been injured.</p><p><strong>A Russian strike on an apartment building in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa killed one person and injured six on Wednesday</strong>, the head of the local military administration said. Serhiy Lysak, writing on Telegram, said apartments from the fifth to the seventh floor of the building were damaged. He posted photos showing at least one apartment badly damaged and debris strewn throughout the building’s interior.</p><p><strong>Ukraine’s defence ministry said on Wednesday it was introducing a new model of operations integrating drone warfare with infantry activity and pointed to successes announced by its top commander in retaking territory from Russian forces in the south of the country.</strong> Top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Kyiv’s forces had regained control of nearly 50 sq km (19 sq miles) of its territory from Russia in March, building on its gains since the start of the year. Drones have assumed a prominent role in the four-year-old war pitting Kyiv against Moscow. Both sides have also devoted resources to developing ways to intercept drones and upgrade air defences.</p><p><strong>A Ukrainian unit told AFP on Wednesday that it has carried out more than 100 attacks on the front using ground robots</strong>, after president Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently hailed the capture of a Russian position thanks to this new method. “In total, there have already been over 100 such operations,” said a source within the NC-13 company, which specialises in the use of these combat machines and is part of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade. “These operations include the elimination of enemy personnel, the destruction of shelters, command posts, and other enemy infrastructure objects. These are no longer isolated incidents, but systematic combat operations,” the source said. The systems allow the replacement of infantry assaults – which can result in soldier deaths – but also to detect and engage targets and prevent enemy infiltrations, the source said.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/ukraine-war-briefing-netherlands-to-spend-almost-300m-on-making-drones-for-ukraine">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Netherlands World news Europe Guardian staff and agencies Photograph: Michael Shtekel/AP https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/15/this-is-europe-end-of-orban-impact-on-european-elections World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:50b78e59-b5a3-c955-d472-6b4ad96969a1 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:18:23 -0400 <p>Péter Magyar’s stunning victory in Hungary is a boost for liberal democracy. But don’t bank on similar upsets in upcoming European elections</p><p>When future historians come to write about the stunning electoral overthrow of Viktor Orbán on 12 April 2026, let’s hope they devote at least footnotes to zebras and golden toilet brushes. The zebras were spotted by drones on the sprawling grounds of a countryside palace belonging to Orbán’s extended family. The 72 gilded toilet brushes were said to have been bought at a cost of almost €10,000, for a lavish renovation of Hungary’s central bank. For Orbán’s opponents, such excesses became symbols of the rampant corruption among cronies of Orbán’s ruling party Fidesz, which drained Hungary’s economy and earned the country the worst ranking on the crookedness league tables in the EU, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/apr/11/zebras-wealth-and-power-hungarys-election-tests-orbans-grip-on-power">Ashifa Kassam and Flora Garamvolgyi reported</a>.</p><p>In the end, it was disgust with corruption and how that corruption affected people’s livelihoods that were the main factors behind <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2026/apr/13/hungarian-prime-minister-viktor-orban-concedes-defeat-after-painful-election-result-video">Sunday’s election rout</a>. But the landslide achieved by Peter Magyar’s Tisza party – despite an electoral system designed to favour Fidesz – suggests that these eye-popping details were merely the last straws for a population desperate to reclaim their country as a functioning democracy.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/15/this-is-europe-end-of-orban-impact-on-european-elections">Continue reading...</a> World news Europe Hungary Viktor Orbán European Union Russia Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy Katherine Butler associate editor, Europe Photograph: Neil Milton/SOPA Images/Shutterstock https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/books/review/rasputin-antony-beevor.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:ab6f3373-b1dd-3b28-5fba-fc1931d2528c Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:02:29 -0400 In “Rasputin,” the biographer Antony Beevor delves into the mysterious life of the last czarina’s mystic adviser. RASPUTIN: The Downfall of the Romanovs (Book) Beevor, Antony Books and Literature Royal Families Occult Sciences Nicholas II, Czar of Russia Rasputin, Grigori Romanov Family Russia Sophie Pinkham https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-kharkiv-nova-poshta.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:646d2957-b48d-89cd-fc56-992bff361eb5 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:02:04 -0400 Oleksiy Klochkovsky has driven mail and parcels around the front line in Ukraine for four years. He keeps one ear tuned for danger from above. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Drones (Pilotless Planes) Kharkiv (Ukraine) Russia Ukraine Cassandra Vinograd and Oleksandr Chubko https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-kharkiv-nova-poshta.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:3a78bb87-8c96-d6de-29cc-cefd3eb6ae18 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:02:04 -0400 Oleksiy Klochkovsky has driven mail and parcels around the front line in Ukraine for four years. He keeps one ear tuned for danger from above. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Drones (Pilotless Planes) Kharkiv (Ukraine) Russia Ukraine Cassandra Vinograd and Oleksandr Chubko https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/15/ukraine-war-briefing-orbans-defeat-in-hungary-could-unlock-90bn-loan-for-ukraine-says-eu-official World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:a61149fe-0a65-1cdd-2b31-b11a5e1a8a88 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 22:04:39 -0400 <p>Ousted Viktor Orbán had previously blocked releasing funds; Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Iran war means US ‘has no time for Ukraine’. What we know on day 1,512</p><p><strong>The change in Hungary’s government could help unlock €90bn for Ukraine and give a “new push” for it to join the European Union, the bloc’s expansion chief said Tuesday.</strong> Marta Kos, speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, described the Hungarian election on Sunday – which saw long-ruling nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán defeated – as a “big win for Europe.” “I expect, personally, that this will have a positive effect on the accession process,” Kos said. She also said it would help unlock a major loan needed to prop up Ukraine’s budget. Orban had an effective veto on the funds, angering other EU leaders. He had tied the veto to a dispute with Ukraine over a damaged pipeline carrying Russian oil.</p><p><strong>Britain will announce extra support for Ukraine worth millions of pounds on Wednesday as senior ministers hold a series of meetings with their international counterparts.</strong> In Washington DC, chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to confirm a £752m payment to Kyiv ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko. The payment, part of a £3.36bn loan, is intended to help pay for weaponry including long-range missiles, air defence systems and drones.</p><p><strong>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday told a German broadcaster that US peace negotiators “have no time for Ukraine” because of the war in Iran, and bemoaned disruption to deliveries of US arms. </strong>Zelenskyy told public broadcaster ZDF that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have helped broker talks with Moscow on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, were “constantly in talks with Iran” at the moment. Describing the pair as “pragmatic”, Zelenskyy said they were trying to “get more attention from Putin in order to end the war”. But “if the United States does not put pressure on Putin (...) and only engages in a gentle dialogue with the Russians, then they will no longer be afraid”, he said.</p><p><strong>Norway and Ukraine will strengthen their bilateral defence cooperation, including by producing Ukrainian drones in the Nordic country, the Norwegian government said on Tuesday.</strong> Under the agreement, Norway will support the production of drones in Ukraine, while the latter will share data, information and knowledge with Norway, Oslo said in a statement. Ukrainian drones will also be produced on Norwegian territory, it said. “We can learn from the experiences that Ukraine is making in this hard-won fight against the Russian aggression,” prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a joint press conference with Zelenskyy. “It is crucial that we learn from these experiences,” he said.</p><p><strong>US officials announced on Tuesday an extension of sanctions relief on Russian oil company Lukoil for fuel stations outside Russia</strong> as the Trump administration seeks to mitigate spikes in crude prices. The action by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) means Lukoil-branded stations in countries like the United States can continue to serve customers through 29 October. The measure allows the gasoline stations to conduct transactions “in the ordinary course of business” such as procuring motor supplies, making insurance payments and processing employee payroll, OFAC said.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/15/ukraine-war-briefing-orbans-defeat-in-hungary-could-unlock-90bn-loan-for-ukraine-says-eu-official">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Volodymyr Zelenskyy Hungary Staff and agencies Photograph: Ronald Wittek/EPA https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/opinion/international-world/sudan-war-anniversary-refugees.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:d656b6dc-d02f-685b-fa24-2b31c9328acf Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:53:41 -0400 I have seen what can happen when Americans care about a wrong in the world. Sudan Darfur (Sudan) Rapid Support Forces (Sudan) Bashir, Omar Hassan Al- South Sudan United Nations High Commission for Refugees Humanitarian Aid Russia United Arab Emirates Egypt Saudi Arabia Qatar Turkey Iran Ann Curry https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/world/europe/russian-oil-revenues-doubled.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:4c218fea-d8a3-36fe-857a-19b1de524462 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:02:52 -0400 The surge in revenue provided a critical lifeline for Moscow, which has struggled to fund the war in Ukraine amid record-high deficits. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline US and Israeli Attack on Iran (2026) International Energy Agency Iran Russia Ukraine Ivan Nechepurenko https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/14/the-guardian-view-on-defence-spending-should-uk-security-rest-with-donald-trump Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:a0e326f5-df9f-3616-1704-9b2f6afe6fb6 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:02:27 -0400 <p>A former Nato chief demands more cash while fixing Britain’s global role. Before billions are spent, ministers must define the purpose of its military</p><p>George Robertson’s claims about the prime minister’s “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/14/starmer-accused-of-corrosive-complacency-about-defence-by-ex-head-of-nato">corrosive complacency</a>” over Britain’s safety made headlines. But it is a howl of pain, not a sober security analysis. The former Nato secretary general and author of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-strategic-defence-review-2025-making-britain-safer-secure-at-home-strong-abroad">government’s strategic defence review</a> (SDR) wants Downing Street to back his view of Britain’s role in the world – as Robin to America’s Batman – with billions of pounds of cash. But his argument takes for granted what should be under scrutiny: Britain’s global&nbsp;military role itself.</p><p>Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g3kw5ezepo">threats</a> over Greenland, his disregard for<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/apr/06/trump-threats-dilemma-for-officers-disobey-orders-or-commit-war-crimes"> international law</a> and his U-turn over the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/chagos-islands-treaty-mauritius-uk-bill-parliament">Chagos</a> deal expose the fragility of Britain’s defence assumptions. Before spending billions, those commitments must be re-examined. Lord Robertson’s claim of a £28bn black hole assumes that the current strategy is the correct one. But if that strategy – with its emphasis on global deployment and alliance commitments – is open to question, then the funding gap may reflect overstretch rather than insufficient spending.</p><p><em><strong>Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tone/letters"> letters</a> section, please <a href="mailto:guardian.letters@theguardian.com?body=Please%20include%20your%20name,%20full%20postal%20address%20and%20phone%20number%20with%20your%20letter%20below.%20Letters%20are%20usually%20published%20with%20the%20author%27s%20name%20and%20city/town/village.%20The%20rest%20of%20the%20information%20is%20for%20verification%20only%20and%20to%20contact%20you%20where%20necessary.">click here</a>.</strong></em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/14/the-guardian-view-on-defence-spending-should-uk-security-rest-with-donald-trump">Continue reading...</a> Defence policy Politics Nato Russia Donald Trump Editorial Photograph: James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/14/hungary-peter-magyar-viktor-orban-eu-ukraine-russia-europe-live-news-updates World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:7ddd169b-7b17-a50b-1212-d076d766c014 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:57:46 -0400 <p>Ukrainian leader hopes for ‘pragmatic’ and ‘friendly’ relations with new government in contrast with hostility of previous pro-Russian regime</p><p><em>in Berlin</em></p><p><strong>At his press conference with Zelenskyy, Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz also welcomed Péter Magyar’s decisive victory, saying it would have “implications for our support for Ukraine”.</strong></p><p><em>“More Hungarians than ever before cast their votes. <strong>By an overwhelming majority, they voted not only to oust a government, but to oust an entire system.”</strong></em></p><p><em>“Volodymyr Zelenskyy and I also discussed this. <strong>The funds for military support must now be disbursed quickly. Ukraine needs them urgently.”</strong></em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/14/hungary-peter-magyar-viktor-orban-eu-ukraine-russia-europe-live-news-updates">Continue reading...</a> World news Hungary Europe Ukraine Russia European Union Jakub Krupa in Budapest Photograph: dts News Agency Germany/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/14/hungary-peter-magyar-viktor-orban-eu-ukraine-russia-europe-live-news-updates World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:407077cc-a04f-a13e-fe10-4218b065fea2 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:36:03 -0400 <p>Ukrainian leader hopes for ‘pragmatic’ and ‘friendly’ relations with new government in contrast with hostility of previous pro-Russian regime</p><p><em>in Berlin</em></p><p><strong>At his press conference with Zelenskyy, Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz also welcomed Péter Magyar’s decisive victory, saying it would have “implications for our support for Ukraine”.</strong></p><p><em>“More Hungarians than ever before cast their votes. <strong>By an overwhelming majority, they voted not only to oust a government, but to oust an entire system.”</strong></em></p><p><em>“Volodymyr Zelenskyy and I also discussed this. <strong>The funds for military support must now be disbursed quickly. Ukraine needs them urgently.”</strong></em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/14/hungary-peter-magyar-viktor-orban-eu-ukraine-russia-europe-live-news-updates">Continue reading...</a> World news Hungary Europe Ukraine Russia European Union Jakub Krupa in Budapest Photograph: dts News Agency Germany/Shutterstock https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/opinion/orbans-defeat-hungary-trump-world.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:1b1a3334-111b-9797-acdd-62a76cffc81b Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:31:26 -0400 The Hungarian prime minister’s defeat demonstrates that opposition to his party was able to overwhelm all the structures Orban put in place to protect his rule. Fidesz Party Tisza (Hungarian Political Party) Orban, Viktor Magyar, Peter Elections Hungary Authoritarianism (Theory and Philosophy) Democracy (Theory and Philosophy) Corruption (Institutional) Russia Europe Michelle Goldberg https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/14/hungary-peter-magyar-viktor-orban-eu-ukraine-russia-europe-live-news-updates World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:3456bfac-8efe-d1cf-7949-747596e78c7d Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:30:16 -0400 <p>Hungarian election winner had not appeared on state media for 18 months before the election and is preparing to overhaul the broadcasters</p><p><em>in Berlin</em></p><p><strong>At his press conference with Zelenskyy, Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz also welcomed Péter Magyar’s decisive victory, saying it would have “implications for our support for Ukraine”.</strong></p><p><em>“More Hungarians than ever before cast their votes. <strong>By an overwhelming majority, they voted not only to oust a government, but to oust an entire system.”</strong></em></p><p><em>“Volodymyr Zelenskyy and I also discussed this. <strong>The funds for military support must now be disbursed quickly. Ukraine needs them urgently.”</strong></em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/14/hungary-peter-magyar-viktor-orban-eu-ukraine-russia-europe-live-news-updates">Continue reading...</a> World news Hungary Europe Ukraine Russia European Union Jakub Krupa Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Shutterstock https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/14/hungary-peter-magyar-viktor-orban-eu-ukraine-russia-europe-live-news-updates World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:5294fdbc-2264-dd91-2c12-f27d340a1086 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 06:56:08 -0400 <p>US vice-president defends pre-election visit to Hungary with fresh barbs against EU in first comments since Orbán’s loss</p><p><strong>Hungarian election winner Péter Magyar is set to appear on the Hungarian state media on Wednesday</strong> as he prepares to overhaul the broadcasters he repeatedly accused of spreading propaganda benefiting the outgoing government of <strong>Viktor Orbán.</strong></p><p>“Nothing lasts forever. <strong>The party-state is falling apart before our eyes</strong>,” he said in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/peter.magyar.102?__cft__[0]=AZYoNLaQdr3oEVOs2s7FsywLlDtUnxqNX-Aju0TbnT8_Tyl6T0PMTf-lh2mz0qcCx5hHW1yrWSwe4-apAe0Xj-L6RgpQ2pFyKvUowRI6PmSmbLK8um_fxQNpIzErFGNsMA4sF20kXVvymygyiEwU-2cbKAq0S2NP-vKMNsiSJw8yy8nuepf2mqzIolXD6u2pGHw&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R">a post on social media.</a></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/14/hungary-peter-magyar-viktor-orban-eu-ukraine-russia-europe-live-news-updates">Continue reading...</a> World news Hungary Europe Ukraine Russia European Union Jakub Krupa Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Shutterstock https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/world/europe/orban-hungary-election-magyar-populism.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:433bc4f6-a7a7-10bd-2d88-7fd385c3b9a8 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:35:17 -0400 The election defeat for Prime Minister Viktor Orban is less the result of an ideological shift in Hungary, and more the playing out of a fundamental rule of politics. Politics and Government United States International Relations Corruption (Institutional) Elections International Relations Fidesz Party European Union Orban, Viktor Magyar, Peter Budapest (Hungary) Central Europe Europe Hungary Russia internal-open-access-from-nl Andrew Higgins https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/14/ukraine-war-briefing-peter-magyar-hungary-putin World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:616ba15f-1a48-94cd-2010-93be2bcd5444 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:10:02 -0400 <p>Péter Magyar would ‘talk to Russian president, but won’t initiate contact’; Ukraine welcomes defeat of Orbán. What we know on day 1,511</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/peter-magyar-election-win-hungary-eu-ukraine-russia">Péter Magyar, Hungary’s new leader</a>, </strong><strong>said he would ask </strong><strong>Vladimir Putin to end the killing in Ukraine if they speak, and plans to review Hungary’s Russian energy contracts and renegotiate them if needed.</strong> Magyar said he would talk to the Russian president, but won’t initiate contact. “If Vladimir Putin calls, I’ll pick up the phone,” he said in his first news conference after his landslide win against Viktor Orbán, a Putin ally. “If we did talk, I could tell him that it would be nice to end the killing after four years and end the war. It would probably be a short phone conversation and I don’t think he would end the war on my advice,” he said.</p><p><strong>Ukraine</strong> <strong>welcomed with relief on Monday the defeat of Orbán, its harshest critic in the EU</strong><strong>, an outcome </strong><strong>that paves the way for a €90bn ($105bn) loan that Kyiv urgently needs to fund the war with Russia.</strong></p><p><strong>Higher oil prices caused by the war in the Middle East could raise inflation rates in Ukraine by 1.5 to 2.8 percentage points, Ukraine’s top central banker said on Monday.</strong> The National Bank of Ukraine governor, Andriy Pyshnyi, said the central bank would stick to its target of lowering inflation to 5% in three years, using all available tools to ensure that goal was met. “We’re trying to walk on a razorblade,” Pyshnyi said through an interpreter, noting prices have already started to rise.</p><p><strong>The Ukrainian military struck a Russian chemicals plant in </strong><strong>Cherepovets in the Vologda</strong><strong> region, Kyiv’s drone forces commander said on Monday.</strong> The plant produces chemicals that serve as raw materials for TNT, hexogen and components for munitions, Robert Brovdi said on Telegram.</p><p><strong>Russian and Belarusian athletes will be permitted to compete in World Aquatics events with their respective uniforms, flags and anthems, the sport’s governing body said on Monday.</strong> Competitors from both countries were banned from international sports events after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which was launched in part from Belarusian territory.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/14/ukraine-war-briefing-peter-magyar-hungary-putin">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Hungary Russia Europe World news Péter Magyar Volodymyr Zelenskyy Vladimir Putin European Union Boris Johnson Guardian staff Photograph: Marek Antoni Iwańczuk/NurPhoto/Shutterstock https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/opinion/orban-hungary-election-magyar.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:2f334e05-a44c-69d3-60fe-608d48a045c7 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:52:39 -0400 Voters seized the chance to leave behind his 16-year rule. Hungary Budapest (Hungary) Orban, Viktor Magyar, Peter Elections European Union Vance, J D Russia Stefano Bottoni https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/podcasts/new-from-serial-the-idiot.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:18b68715-80a1-4d73-3d9f-5d70b26b4368 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:55:59 -0400 Listen to the trailer today. Russian-Americans Gessen, Masha Russia Sarah Koenig https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/podcasts/serial-the-idiot-is-out-now.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:c5babe94-9cce-8557-edae-47b0810a5d5f Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:55:48 -0400 Listen to the whole series today. Gessen, Masha Russia Zimbabwe Sarah Koenig https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/13/the-guardian-view-on-hungarys-election-democracy-reclaimed- Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:5450ef2e-805c-7ff9-efbe-7d8b288f4519 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:57:11 -0400 <p>The defeat of Orbánism is a globally significant political moment. But it is, above all, a triumph for the citizens who mobilised to take their country back</p><p>Prior to his landslide election victory in 2010, which was to lead to 16 unbroken years in power, Viktor Orbán <a href="https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/how-viktor-orbans-hungary-eroded-rule-law-free-markets">would</a> tell supporters: “We have only to win once, but then properly.” Achieving a so-called supermajority by winning two-thirds of parliamentary seats allowed Mr&nbsp;Orbán to change the constitution, and begin turning Hungary into a soft <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220909IPR40137/meps-hungary-can-no-longer-be-considered-a-full-democracy">autocracy</a>. From the judiciary to the media and universities, the checks and balances of a democratic society were steadily dismantled and minorities were marginalised, as the country became a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/opinion/viktor-orban-donald-trump-hungary-right.html">beacon</a> for the global far right and a nationalist thorn&nbsp;in the side of Brussels.</p><p>On Sunday, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/hungary-election-results-eu-europe-leaders-react-peter-magyar-viktor-orban">stunningly</a>, it was Mr Orbán’s centre-right challenger, Péter Magyar, who “won properly”. After a record turnout, his Tisza party is all but certain to win its own supermajority. Given Mr Orbán’s control of state media and gerrymandering of constituencies to favour his Fidesz party, this was a truly remarkable result.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/13/the-guardian-view-on-hungarys-election-democracy-reclaimed-">Continue reading...</a> Hungary Péter Magyar Viktor Orbán Europe European Union Vladimir Putin Russia JD Vance Donald Trump US news US politics World news Editorial Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/world/europe/hungary-orban-ukraine-zelensky.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:21600ac4-cb15-848c-4963-65efe61cee5f Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:28:02 -0400 The Hungarian leader’s pro-Moscow tilt cemented his reputation in Kyiv as a spoiler. Now, Ukraine hopes a 90-billion-euro loan he blocked will be disbursed. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Elections International Relations Foreign Aid European Union Magyar, Peter Orban, Viktor Putin, Vladimir V Zelensky, Volodymyr Hungary Russia Ukraine internal-open-access-from-nl Constant Méheut https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/peter-magyar-election-win-hungary-eu-ukraine-russia World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:ee7a4934-9818-ef72-b95f-6aff74f7d3f3 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:14:16 -0400 <p>Péter Magyar has promised to repair Hungary’s ties with Brussels after years of strained relations</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/13/hungary-peter-magyar-viktor-orban-trump-russia-ukraine-iran-eu-europe-latest-news-updates">Europe live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>Péter Magyar’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/12/viktor-orban-concedes-defeat-as-opposition-wins-hungarian-election">resounding election victory</a> brings an end to 16 years of rightwing populist rule under Viktor Orbán. But the effects of that win are likely to be felt well beyond Hungary’s borders, from Brussels to Moscow and from Kyiv to Washington.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/peter-magyar-election-win-hungary-eu-ukraine-russia">Continue reading...</a> Hungary Péter Magyar Viktor Orbán European Union The far right Russia Ukraine Europe World news Sam Jones and Jakub Krupa in Budapest Photograph: Márton Mónus/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/peter-magyar-election-win-hungary-eu-ukraine-russia World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:8c43192e-ca5c-dd32-a74d-e06862a07cfd Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:14:16 -0400 <p>Tisza leader has promised to repair his country’s ties with Brussels after years of strained relations</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/13/hungary-peter-magyar-viktor-orban-trump-russia-ukraine-iran-eu-europe-latest-news-updates">Europe live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>Péter Magyar’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/12/viktor-orban-concedes-defeat-as-opposition-wins-hungarian-election">resounding election victory</a> brings an end to 16 years of rightwing populist rule under Viktor Orbán. But the effects of that win are likely to be felt well beyond Hungary’s borders, from Brussels to Moscow and from Kyiv to Washington.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/peter-magyar-election-win-hungary-eu-ukraine-russia">Continue reading...</a> Hungary Péter Magyar Viktor Orbán European Union The far right Russia Ukraine Europe World news Sam Jones and Jakub Krupa in Budapest Photograph: Márton Mónus/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/peter-duncan-obituary World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:f05a3c67-a3bb-bc80-fefb-811b48b922bd Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:58:26 -0400 <p>My friend Peter Duncan, who has died aged 72, was a senior lecturer at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London, where he was an expert in contemporary Russian politics and foreign policy from the late 1980s until his retirement in 2021.</p><p>During that time he also wrote two books on his specialist subjects: Soviet Union and India (1989) and Russian Messianism: Third Rome, Revolution, Communism and After (2000). One of the most knowledgable of Britain’s Russianists, in 2019 he made his expertise available to the House of Commons, which asked him to draw up a report on Russian political interference and money laundering in the UK.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/peter-duncan-obituary">Continue reading...</a> Russia Politics Ukraine Robert Service Photograph: none