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Russia has lost more than 8,000 troops in the past week alone as it launches new offensives in the improving spring weather, according to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
“This week, we have observed attempts by the Russians to intensify their offensive efforts, taking advantage of more favourable weather conditions. As a result, the only tangible outcome for the Russian army has been an increase in their losses – more than 8,000 killed and seriously wounded Russian soldiers in just these seven days,” he said in his nightly address.
Zelensky also warned of a shortage of US-supplied Patriot air defence missiles if the Middle East conflict continues, saying Vladimir Putin will benefit from a “long war” in Iran.
He told the BBC that the US produces around 60 to 65 Patriot missiles a month, which equates to roughly 600 to 700 a year. He said 103 missiles were used in the Iran war on the first day alone.He said there will “definitely” be a deficit, and the question is now “when will all the stockpiles in the Middle East be exhausted”.
“For Putin, a long war in Iran is a plus,” as resources deplete, he added.
Ukrainian soldiers fighting off Russian advances on the war frontline have said the loss of Starlink access to Russia has been essential to their counter-offensive.
“It came at a critical moment,” a soldier who goes by the call sign Konosh, from the Timur Special Forces Unit in Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate told the Wall Street Journal.
“Without Starlink, they were basically pushed back to Cold War-era communications,” he said.
A Ukrainian commander confirmed that once Starlink was cut off, so did the number of drones coming towards them.
“Before, if the enemy spotted our group, even a single soldier, they wouldn’t let him go. They would throw everything at him,” said Oleksiy Serdiuk, the commander of the Brotherhood unit of the Timur Special Forces Unit.
A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to the antenna of the Starlink satellite-based broadband system in Bakhmut (AFP/Getty)
Arpan Rai23 March 2026 10:25
President Zelensky said he has a “very bad feeling” about how the war in the Middle East will affect Ukraine.
He told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I have a very bad feeling about the impact of this war on the situation in Ukraine and the focus of America, it’s more on the Middle East than on Ukraine unfortunately.
“Therefore, you see that our diplomatic meetings, trilateral meetings, are constantly postponed. There is one reason: war in Iran.”
He added that Donald Trump is “concentrating on Iran”.
Arpan Rai23 March 2026 09:55
Kenyan nationals enlisted by Russia to fight the war in Ukraine will now be granted amnesty on their return home, Kenya’s foreign minister said.
“So far 44 Kenyans have been safely repatriated back home while 11 have been reported missing in action/killed in action, 38 are currently hospitalised in various Russian hospitals under restricted access, leaving 160 Kenyans officers still actively involved,” Musalia Mudavadi said in a statement.
The Kenyan foreign ministry said Mudavadi has negotiated a deal that allowed Kenyans currently on the front line and “unwilling to continue in the assignment disengaged and freed to travel back home”.
At least 1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine after being misled with false promises of jobs in Russia before being sent to the front lines, an intelligence report said.
Arpan Rai23 March 2026 09:25
A fuel reservoir in Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Primorsk caught fire after a drone attack this morning, said Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of northwestern Leningrad region.
He said 35 drones have been shot down over the region in recent attacks.
Arpan Rai23 March 2026 08:55
Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has said that the country “had our suspicions” in response to a Washington Post report that Hungary’s government has for years provided Russia with detailed information from EU Council meetings.
The Post, citing several current and former European security officials, found that the Hungarian government under Viktor Orban has long offered Moscow access to sensitive discussions within the European Union.
Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó regularly calls during breaks in EU council meetings to provide his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, with “direct reports on what was discussed” and possible solutions, according to the Post report.
“The news that Orban’s people inform Moscow about EU Council meetings in every detail shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone,” Polish PM Donald Tusk said on X.
“We’ve had our suspicions about that for a long time. That’s one reason why I take the floor only when strictly necessary and say just as much as necessary.”
Szijjártó called Tusk’s comments “fake news”.
Polish PM Donald Tusk speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU summit in Brussels (AP)
Arpan Rai23 March 2026 08:25
Arpan Rai23 March 2026 07:55
With her freshly manicured long pink nails, Nicole pushes the next round of ammunition into the magazine and loads her rifle. She then adjusts her ear protectors, lies down and positions herself carefully behind the AK15.
The first shot misses her target, 100 metres across a snowy expanse, but the second hits with sharp clang and Nicole continues to make hit after hit, shifting into a seated position and then standing with the heavy gun pressed against her shoulder.
Earlier that day Nicole San Juan, 35, had come bounding into the shooting range in the Kanta-Häme region of Finland with fluffy Disney toys swinging off her backpack along with a glittery framed photo of herself and her boyfriend. Barely over 5ft tall, her slight frame stands out among the broad-shouldered, bearded men dressed in camo. But Nicole is far from alone.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, an increasing number of women in Finland are learning to shoot and familiarising themselves with firearms.
The women ready to take up arms to defend Finland
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago, the demand for civilian firearms training in Finland has risen sharply, with much of the interest being female – Annabel Grossman meets the women who are learning shooting and survival skills in the face on a hostile neighbour
Arpan Rai23 March 2026 07:25
Ukrainian and US delegations concluded a second day of talks in Florida on finding ways to end the four-year war with Russia, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.
Russian representatives were not present at the talks, which opened in Florida on Saturday. They were originally expected to attend the negotiations, which were due to take place in Abu Dhabi.
The US team is led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, president Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
“It is clear that the US side’s attention at the moment is focused primarily on the situation surrounding Iran and the wider region, but Russia’s war against Ukraine must also be brought to an end,” Zelensky said in an evening address.
“There are indications that further (prisoner of war) exchanges may take place, which would indeed would be very good news and confirmation that diplomacy is working. We hope this will come to fruition,” he added.
Zelensky did not specify whether the talks would continue, when or where they might take place, or in what format.
Arpan Rai23 March 2026 06:55
Ukrainian soldiers fighting off Russian advances on the war frontline have said the loss of Starlink access to Russia has been essential to their counter-offensive.
“It came at a critical moment,” a soldier who goes by the call sign Konosh, from the Timur Special Forces Unit in Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate told the Wall Street Journal.
“Without Starlink, they were basically pushed back to Cold War-era communications,” he said.
A Ukrainian commander confirmed that once Starlink was cut off, so did the number of drones coming towards them.
“Before, if the enemy spotted our group, even a single soldier, they wouldn’t let him go. They would throw everything at him,” said Oleksiy Serdiuk, the commander of the Brotherhood unit of the Timur Special Forces Unit.
A soldier of the 127th Separate Territorial Brigade launches a drone to search for Russian attack drones at the front line in the Kharkiv region (AP)
Arpan Rai23 March 2026 06:24
A high-level Nato military delegation led by Admiral Pierre Vandier arrived in Kyiv for the first time since the beginning of the conflict with Russia, a senior Ukrainian official said yesterday.
“For the first time during a full-scale war, a Nato military command of this level visited Ukraine – a delegation led by Admiral Pierre Vandier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation,” said Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, on Telegram.
(X/United24)
The two sides discussed the participation of Ukrainian troops in Nato’s military exercises in the capacity of a conditional adversary.
The future of the Nato-Ukraine joint centre was also discussed, he said.
Arpan Rai23 March 2026 05:55