Russian Attack

At least one death with authorities reporting fires and damage to offices and homes, while Ukraine’s forces earlier hit logistics warehouses in RussiaRussia has carried out one of its biggest ever ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, launching a five-hour raid that left at least one person dead and seven injured, with fires and damage across the city.Ukrainian officials said the capital was hit with about 40 Iskander-M and hypersonic Zircon missiles. Residents heard an air raid siren sound at 1.30am. There was the sound of air defences followed minutes later by a series of booms and explosions. Continue reading...

• The EU and UK have officially attributed a cyberattack on Poland's power grid to Russian spies, specifically targeting GRU leaders Vyacheslav Stafeyev, Ivan Senin, and Ivan Kasyanenko. • The operation allegedly involved collaboration with cybercriminals and a firm called IMPULS to recruit cybersecurity specialists from Russian universities to orchestrate hybrid attacks. • The incident is considered critical as it threatened to leave approximately 500,000 people without electricity during the winter months.

• Warsaw has reportedly received warnings that Moscow is planning an armed "provocation" on Polish soil to test the resolve of NATO allies. • The situation could trigger a rapid response from specialized deployment teams, including elite parachute units capable of entering conflict zones via air drops. • These units have a proven track record of rapid global deployment, having previously managed evacuations in Kabul in August 2022 and Sudan in April 2023.

• Russia launched a large-scale wave of missile and drone attacks overnight targeting Kyiv, Kharkiv, and various cultural heritage sites across Ukraine. • UN Humanitarian Coordinator Matthias Schmale reported that several civilians were killed and dozens injured, with children among the casualties and residential buildings catching fire. • The attacks are significant for targeting both civilian populations and the country's history and cultural landmarks, drawing strong condemnation from the United Nations.

Dormition Cathedral of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine’s most significant religious sites, and residential buildings hit across capitalUkraine has come under a massive Russian missile and drone attack with waves of explosions echoing through the capital, Kyiv, in the early hours of Monday morning as air raids killed at least five people across the country.Among targets hit in the sustained wave of strikes were the city’s historic Dormition Cathedral within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine’s most significant religious sites, as well as residential buildings across the city. Continue reading...

• Ukrainian drones launched a "massive attack" on Saturday, targeting a tanker at the port of Taganrog and an oil depot in Armavir. • The strikes occurred overnight in Russia's southern Rostov and Krasnodar regions, according to local authorities. • These operations target critical energy infrastructure to disrupt Russian logistics and economic capabilities during the ongoing war.

The death toll included three children, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saidAt least 24 people, including three children, were reported killed in yesterday’s Russian attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.The death toll update came after a night of search and rescue operations.“A Russia like this can never be normalised – a Russia that deliberately destroys lives and hopes to remain unpunished. Pressure is needed. It is Ukraine that is defending Europe and the world so that such strikes, in which children are killed, do not spread further.” Continue reading...

Russian attack on gas facility in Poltava region kills three energy firm employees and two emergency service workersVolodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the Kremlin of “utter cynicism” for killing five people in overnight strikes at the same time as seeking a truce so it can stage a military parade in Moscow.Three employees of the state energy firm Naftogaz were killed in an initial attack on a gas facility in Ukraine’s central Poltava region, and two emergency service workers died at the scene in a follow-on bombing. Thirty-seven people were injured in the strikes. Continue reading...

Across country, more than 10 people have been injured as Ukrainian prime minister Julia Svyrydenko prepares to visit PolandAnother night of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine overnight left more than 10 people injured, particularly damaging residential buildings in the Odesa region.The strikes caused the biggest damage in the central Prymorskyi district, where residential buildings, a hotel and facilities in the center of the city were damaged, Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local military administration, said on Telegram in comments reported by Reuters. Continue reading...

• NATO's Cyber Defense Centre convened an emergency session Friday evening after Russia launched a sophisticated cyberattack targeting Poland's electrical grid and water treatment facilities, temporarily affecting 2.3 million residents. • Polish authorities attribute the attack to Russian military intelligence, claiming it used previously unknown malware variants designed to evade NATO defense systems and test alliance cyber resilience. • The incident prompted NATO to raise its cyber alert status to level 3, the highest in the alliance's history, and triggered Article 5 consultations regarding collective defense implications.

Ukraine reports 469 violations of Putin’s 32-hour ceasefire, hours after deadly drone attacks on Odesa and KhersonRussia continued to strike Ukrainian positions with drones after a Kremlin-declared Easter ceasefire took effect on Saturday, a Ukrainian military officer said.“The ceasefire is not being observed by the Russian side,” said Serhii Kolesnychenko, a communications officer for the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade. Continue reading...

• NATO formally condemned coordinated Russian cyber attacks launched against critical infrastructure in three alliance member states, including Estonia, Lithuania, and Romania, on April 1-2, 2026. • The attacks targeted power grid control systems and financial networks, with NATO officials attributing the operations to Russian GRU military intelligence with "high confidence" based on forensic analysis and technical signatures. • The incident prompted emergency meetings of the NATO Cyber Defence Centre in Tallinn and triggered Article 5 threat assessment protocols, though military responses remain under deliberation among member states.

President says he is open to scaling back strikes on oil and wider energy industry if Moscow reciprocates. What we know on day 1,496 Continue reading...

President urges people to reduce consumption after power line passing through Ukraine damaged by drones; Moscow spring offensive steps up. What we know on day 1,491Moldova declared a state of emergency in the energy sector after a key power line with Europe was disconnected following Russian strikes in Ukraine. The declaration comes into effect on Wednesday and lasts for 60 days. The prime minister, Alexandru Munteanu, appealed to people to “avoid unnecessary consumption, especially during peak hours” and “stay united”, according to a statement from parliament. The former Soviet republic imports electricity from neighbouring EU member Romania, mostly via a power cable that passes through southern Ukraine. Moldovan authorities said crashed drones had been identified in Ukraine near the line and that “demining operations” were needed before repairs could be done. Restoring the power line itself was expected to take up to seven days, the energy minister, Dorin Junghietu was quoted by the Moldovan media outlet Ziarul de Gardă as saying. “Russia alone bears responsibility,” the Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, wrote on X, while the foreign ministry also condemned the Russian attacks. Russia has frequently targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since it invaded its neighbour in 2022.The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has accused Russia of “absolute depravity” after Moscow fired an unprecedented daytime barrage across Ukraine, including on the historical centre of the western city of Lviv. “Iranian ‘shaheds’ [attack drones], modernised by Russia, are striking a church in Lviv – this is absolute depravity, and only someone like [Vladimir] Putin could find this appealing,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address. “The scale of this attack makes it abundantly clear that Russia has no intention of actually ending this war,” Zelenskyy added, vowing that Ukraine “will certainly respond to any attacks”.Russia’s military said on Wednesday it had shot down 389 Ukrainian drones overnight in one of the largest attacks to date. Russian regions bordering Ukraine, as well as Moscow and northwestern Leningrad were the main areas targeted, according to the military.Moscow appears to be stepping up a spring offensive intended to break Ukrainian resistance, writes Pjotr Sauer. Ukrainian officials said Moscow fired nearly 400 long-range drones and 23 cruise missiles overnight, followed by another 556 drones in an unusual daytime assault on Tuesday, hitting cities across the west of the country and killing at least seven people. Taken together, the barrage marks one of the largest aerial bombardments of Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion more than four years ago. One Russian drone struck the Bernardine monastery, a 16th-century church in Lviv’s Unesco-listed medieval centre, causing damage, local authorities said.North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, said his country would always support Russia in a thank-you letter to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Ties between the two have grown closer since Putin began the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Pyongyang sending ground troops and weapons systems to aid Russia’s war effort. “I express my sincere thanks to you for sending warm and sincere congratulations first on my reassumption of the heavy duty as president of the state affairs,” Kim said in the message on Tuesday, the official Korean central news agency said. “Today the DPRK and Russia are closely cooperating to defend the sovereignty of the two countries,” Kim said, using the initials of the North’s official name. “Pyongyang will always be with Moscow. This is our choice and unshakable will,” he added. South Korean and western intelligence agencies have estimated that the North has sent thousands of soldiers to Russia, primarily to the Kursk region, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems. Analysts say the assistance has been provided in exchange for Russia’s provision of food and weapons technologies. Continue reading...