Ukraine has called on Israel to detain a Russian vessel allegedly carrying grain taken from occupied Ukrainian territory, escalating a diplomatic row over alleged wartime looting.
The Russian ship ABINSK is loaded with 43,765.18 tonnes of wheat, claimed to have come from the occupied territories of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian journalist Kateryna Yaresko and the SeaKrime project.
Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha raised the issue directly with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, warning that the vessel docked at Port of Haifa forms part of Moscow’s wider war effort.
Sybiha stressed that the “illegal export of stolen agricultural products” must not be allowed to continue.
James Reynolds15 April 2026 12:30
Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Norway on Wednesday and signed an agreement to strengthen their bilateral defence cooperation, including by producing Ukrainian drones in the Nordic country.
Zelensky said he discussed cooperation in the production and use of drones in detail with his Norwegian counterpart.
“Our experience is already being used in the Middle East and the Gulf. We are improving defense against ‘shahed’ drones, and we believe this should also be done in Europe,” he said.
Prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a joint press conference with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky: “We can learn from the experiences that Ukraine is making in this hard-won fight against the Russian aggression.”
“It is crucial that we learn from these experiences,” he said.
Shweta Sharma15 April 2026 11:30
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.
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.
Ms Reeves said: “This funding will help deliver the military equipment Ukraine needs as it defends itself against Russia’s unprovoked war.
“I am proud that the UK is a leading partner in providing vital support to Ukraine, and we will continue to step up to do more while keeping pressure on Russia.”
Meanwhile, defence secretary John Healey will use a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) to announce the UK’s biggest ever drone package for Ukraine that will see 120,000 drones delivered to the country.
The package will include long-range strike drones, reconnaissance drones, logistics drones and those with maritime capabilities, with many produced by UK-based companies.
Mr Healey said: “This big boost of battle-proven drones will give Ukrainian forces the capability they need to defend their people and fight back against Russian aggression.”
Shweta Sharma15 April 2026 10:45
Addressing a media briefing a day after his landslide election victory over nationalist Viktor Orban, an ally of Putin, Mr Magyar said he hoped Moscow would be forced to end the war soon and affirmed that Ukraine is the clear victim in the conflict.
Mr Magyar, the leader of the centre-right Tisza party, said he would not call the Russian president, but he has previously publicly recognised that he would need to hold talks with Putin and that Budapest would need to continue buying Russian oil and gas for the time being.
Shweta Sharma15 April 2026 10:00
Shweta Sharma15 April 2026 09:15
“For the first time in the history of this war, an enemy position was taken exclusively by unmanned platforms – ground systems and drones. The occupiers surrendered, and the operation was carried out without infantry and without losses on our side,” the president said, referencing a groundbreaking manoeuvre in Kharkiv oblast last year.
Shweta Sharma15 April 2026 08:30
Ukrainian forces are striking Russian military trucks with a “Hornet”-type suicide drone equipped with an automated targeting system, a Ukrainian government–run platform said, citing a video.
The video, circulating on social media since Monday, shows the drone locking onto and hitting the vehicles, reportedly without manual guidance in the final moments of the strike.
The system is believed to use onboard targeting assistance, allowing it to track and maintain its trajectory even in the face of battlefield interference.
The Independent could not verify the authenticity of the video.
“Hornet” drones are typically linked to Ukrainian-developed FPV and loitering munitions produced by volunteer-led initiatives such as the Wild Hornets group, the news website launched by the Ukrainian government in 2022 to support the war effort, reported.
These compact, high-speed platforms carry explosive payloads and are designed to hit targets directly, including moving vehicles.
Newer versions increasingly feature elements of automated targeting, reflecting a broader shift in Ukraine’s drone warfare strategy.
Kyiv has focused on scaling up production while improving precision and resilience, particularly in strikes aimed at disrupting Russian logistics and supply lines.
Shweta Sharma15 April 2026 08:00
Russia launched a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine, firing more than 300 drones and three ballistic missiles, Ukrainian officials said, with port infrastructure in the south among the targets.
Ukraine’s air force said 324 drones were launched from Tuesday evening, with 309 shot down or neutralised.
All three missiles and at least 13 drones struck targets in nine locations, it said.
In the southeastern city of Dnipro, three people were injured and a nine-storey apartment block was damaged, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said, a day after a missile strike there killed five and wounded nearly 30.
In Cherkasy, four people sought medical help following a separate drone attack, while in Zaporizhzhia a 74-year-old woman was killed in shelling that also damaged nearby buildings and businesses.
Further strikes hit port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region, damaging administrative and warehouse facilities, governor Oleh Kiper said.
Shweta Sharma15 April 2026 07:45
Mr Orban, who enjoyed warm relations with Russian president Vladimir Putin and was a persistent thorn in Ukraine’s side as it sought financial backing for its war effort from a divided Europe, was swept aside by Peter Magyar and his centre-right Tisza party.
What the future holds for the Russia-Hungary relationship is unclear, but in light of Mr Orban’s collapse in public support, Moscow now appears to be distancing itself and playing down the loss of its most influential ally in the European Union.
“We were never friends with Orban,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to The Guardian. Hungary’s official designation is as an “unfriendly country”, he added, explaining that Russia therefore did not congratulate Mr Magyar on his election win.
Shweta Sharma15 April 2026 07:34
Chinese president Xi Jinping said Wednesday that the stability and certainty of China-Russia relations are particularly “precious” in the face of an international landscape intertwined with change and chaos.
During a meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing, Xi said the strong vitality and exemplary significance of the friendship treaty between the two countries stand out even more under such a backdrop.
(Reuters)
He said foreign ministries from both countries would need to fully implement the consensus reached between him and Russian president Vladimir Putin, calling for strengthening strategic communication and close diplomatic coordination.
He also urged them to promote the comprehensive strategic partnership between Beijing and Moscow to “stand higher, walk more steadily and go further.
(Getty)
“Xi touted the value of the two nations’ ties, but he did not specify what he referred to as chaos and changes in the international context, as uncertainty still lingers about how long the Iran war would last.
Shweta Sharma15 April 2026 07:00