The proposed budget calls for a $445 billion (44%) increase in defense funds in 2027 — as U.S. military aid to Ukraine has dropped by 99% under Trump's watch.

"The delegation came onto U.S. soil for one purpose: to advance the Kremlin's strategic aims—including gathering additional useful intelligence," members of the Foreign Relations Committee wrote.

Russian forces dropped FAB-250 aerial bombs with cluster munitions on a residential area of Kramatorsk, killing four people and injuring four others.

Long lines formed at shops, restaurants, and gas stations in multiple Russian cities on April 3, as establishments could only accept cash payments. The outage may be connected to the Kremlin's restriction of VPNs.

Around 200 Ukrainian troops are based in Libya in cooperation with the government in Tripoli, sources told Radio France Internationale. These forces are allegedly responsible for the March 3 strike on a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea.

Key developments on April 3: * Over 400 Russian drones detected in Ukraine's airspace during mass attack, at least 4 killed, over 30 injured * Russia suffers record losses in March, Zelensky says * Ukraine's General Staff confirms strike on oil refinery in Russia's Ufa, targets in Russian-occupied Ukraine * Russian Su-30 fighter jet crashes in occupied Crimea during training flight, Kremlin Defense Ministry claims Russia carried out a mass daytime attack on Ukraine on April 3, deploying hu

The U.S. attack on Iran has opened a new set of strategic dilemmas for Western support of Ukraine and efforts to contain Russia. Yet, already before the latest escalation in the Middle East, there were various vagaries for Europe's approach to Trump's attempts to end the Russo-Ukrainian War. These risks will remain independently from the length and outcome of the Iran War. Tensions have been constantly rising, over the last year, between the U.S. and its European allies over how the West shou

The police received a report of the attack on a service member at around 2:15 p.m. local time. The victim later died in the hospital from his injuries.

Zelensky also said that, according to British intelligence, the battlefield situation is currently the most favorable for Ukraine in the past 10 months.

After a punishing winter, Ukraine has had no time to recover. Russia launched almost 6,500 drones in March, surpassing the total of each of the previous two months, with no sign of slowing down. "Russia's tactics are evolving toward more sustained, flexible, and psychologically exhausting pressure," Viktor Kevliuk, a reserve colonel and analyst at the Center for Defense Strategies, told the Kyiv Independent. Russia has steadily ramped up defense production over more than four years of full-sca

The number of drones has surged throughout the morning.

The crew ejected and was recovered by a search-and-rescue team, the ministry claimed.

Editor's note: This article is a shortened on-site version of KI Insights' public newsletter, The Week Ahead, covering events from April 6-12. Sign up here to start your week with an agenda of Ukraine-related events delivered directly to your inbox every week. Audio version of The Week Ahead is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. The parliamentary elections in Hungary, scheduled for 12 April, could reshape the trajectory of developments in Ukraine. Prime Minister Viktor Orbá

Following the August summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska, Moscow has repeatedly referred to the "Anchorage agreements," invoking the meeting as a supposed foundation for ending the war in Ukraine. Now, as U.S.-mediated peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv stall amid Washington's focus on the war in Iran, Russian officials have again revived the narrative. "There is currently a pause (in the negotiations)," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lav

Since returning to power in 2023, Prime Minister Robert Fico has transformed Slovakia from one of the most Ukraine-friendly countries to one of its sharpest critics. A Russian-friendly populist, Fico has halted military aid to Ukraine, traveled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and obstructed EU backing for Kyiv. Slovakia's pro-EU opposition wants to change course after next year's elections. Fico's Ukraine policy has been "disastrous" and a "huge loss of credit for Slovakia

"Yet thousands of children remain under occupation," the NGO Save Ukraine said.

"This refinery is a key component of Russia's fuel and energy complex and is used to meet the needs of the Russian military," the General Staff said.

"The Russians have only intensified their attacks and, instead of silence in the skies, are carrying out an Easter escalation," Zelensky said following the call.

"I support unity and want the parliament to function effectively," he said. "But today, the public position of some representatives of parliamentary factions is clearly not aimed at unity."

A black-and-white portrait of a well-dressed, composed family draws the eye to a figure in the left-hand corner —  Antin Krushelnytsky, the family’s patriarch, and a writer, educator, and former minister of education of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. Likely taken in Kharkiv in the early 1930s, the photograph captures a moment of cultural rebirth for Ukraine. Krushelnytsky and his family were part of a generation of writers, artists, and intellectuals who believed Ukrainian culture could devel

The number includes 1,230 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Russian forces launched a barrage of missiles and drones across Ukraine overnight on April 3, with strikes reported on the city of Kharkiv, officials.

Vice President J.D. Vance is set to visit Hungary on April 7–8 for bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Viktor Orban and to deliver remarks on U.S.–Hungary relations.

Belarusian lawmakers have approved a bill introducing penalties for what authorities describe as the promotion of homosexuality, gender transition, childlessness, and pedophilia, further tightening restrictions on LGBTQ+ expression in the country.

Ukrainian forces, with the help of military intelligence, struck multiple Russian military targets at the Kirovske airfield in occupied Crimea overnight on April 2, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said.

Ukraine has now survived four winters of systematic Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure. This past winter was especially challenging. The United Nations documented near-daily strikes on energy infrastructure across 17 regions in January alone. In Kyiv, repeated attacks on two combined heat and power plants cut central heating to nearly 6,000 residential buildings each time. All 15 of Ukraine's thermal power plants have now been damaged or destroyed. Yet Ukraine managed to adapt — and

Key developments on April 2: * An-26 crash in occupied Crimea kills Russian general, BBC reports * Lviv Customs inspector suspected in killing of enlistment officer, police say * Russia's Gazprom claims Ukrainian strikes on TurkStream pipeline * Melania Trump helps return of 7 Ukrainian children taken by Russia Russian Lieutenant-General Aleksandr Otroshchenko was one of those aboard the An-26 transport plane that crashed in Russian-occupied Crimea on March 31, BBC's Russian Service report

The plane had crashed into the mountains of the occupied peninsula, killing 29 military personnel on board, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"I am encouraged that both sides remain committed toongoing cooperation, raising the safety and well-being of children above this abhorrent war," the First Lady said in her statement.

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.