Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv says it is in strongest frontline position ‘in a year’ due to drone tactics

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that the unblocking of a 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) European Union loan to Kyiv was “the right signal under the current circumstances”.

Writing on X, Zelensky said that incentives for Russia to end its war in Ukraine “can arise only when both support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia are sufficient.”

“Ukraine is fulfilling its obligations in relations with the European Union – even on such sensitive issues as the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline.

“We expect that the European side will also deliver what is needed for the real protection of lives and for advancing Ukraine’s full European integration.”

Across the Chernobyl exclusion zone, a radioactive landscape too dangerous for human life, the world’s wildest horses roam free. Przewalski’s horses – stocky, sand-coloured, and almost toy-like – graze an area larger than Luxembourg.

This desolate territory was created on 26 April 1986, when an explosion at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant sent radiation across Europe, forcing the evacuation of entire towns and displacing thousands. It remains the worst nuclear disaster in history.

Four decades on, Chernobyl (Chornobyl in Ukraine) remains too dangerous for humans. Yet, wildlife has moved back in. Wolves now prowl the vast no-man’s-land spanning Ukraine and Belarus, and brown bears have returned after more than a century. Populations of lynx, moose, red deer, and even free-roaming dogs have rebounded.

The European Commission has sent a letter to organisers of the Venice Biennale informing them of its intent to terminate or suspend a 2 million euro grant in funding after they allowed Russia to reopen its pavilion at this year’s event.

“There is only one ongoing grant, this is of 2 million for the next three years and this is the one we aim to terminate or to suspend,” an EU Commission spokesperson told reporters.

The Biennale had 30 days to respond to the EU’s letter, the spokesperson added.

After Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian artists and institutions were excluded from major European events, including the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

We’ve heard more from Prince Harry, who is making a surprise visit to Kyiv today.

The Duke of Sussex has warned “the world must not grow used” or “numb” to the conflict in Ukraine as he insisted he was speaking in the war-torn country not as “a politician” but as a “soldier who understands service”.

Harry, in an address to the Kyiv Security Forum during a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, said: “I am not here as a politician.

“I am here as a soldier who understands service, as a humanitarian who has seen the human cost of conflict, and as a friend of Ukraine who believes the world must not grow used to this war or numb to its consequences.

“Because what is happening here is not simply a war about territory. It is a war about values. About sovereignty.

“About whether the principles that underpin our shared democracy still hold meaning.”

Ukrainian drones have struck the Gorky oil pumping station in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region overnight, an official from Ukraine’s SBU security service said on Thursday.

Three oil tanks were damaged as a result of the strike and a massive fire broke out, covering an area of 20,000 square metres, the source said.

The station is an important part of Russia’s oil transport system and supports the operation of main oil pipelines, the source added.

Prince Harry has been speaking during his surprise visit to Kyiv.

Directly addressing Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Duke of Sussex said: “President Putin, no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we are witnessing.

“There is still a moment – now – to stop this war, to prevent further suffering for Ukrainians and Russians alike, and to choose a different course.”

He also made reference to the “American leadership” but did not mention Donald Trump by name, saying it was a “moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations”.

Harry said: “The United States has a singular role in this story. Not only because of its power, but because when Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons, America was part of the assurance that Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders would be respected.

“This is a moment for American leadership – a moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations – not out of charity, but out of its enduring role in global security and strategic stability.”

The 1986 Chernobyl disaster fueled global fears about nuclear power and slowed its development in Europe and elsewhere. Four decades later, however, there’s a revival around the world, a trend that has been given a big boost by war in the Middle East.

Over 400 nuclear reactors are operational in 31 countries, while about 70 more are under construction. Nuclear power accounts for producing about 10% of the world’s electricity, equivalent to about a quarter of all sources of low-carbon power.

Nuclear reactors have seen steady improvements, adding more safety features and making them cheaper to build and operate.

A woman living in a Russian-controlled part of southern Ukraine has been found guilty of treason and sentenced to 14 years in prison for buying war bonds to support the Ukrainian military, the court that convicted her said on Thursday.

The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia District Court said the woman had used a Ukrainian mobile app to purchase bonds worth 270,080 roubles ($3,600), and had been caught by the FSB security service.

It identified her only by the initial B, and said she was a Russian citizen. People living in parts of Ukraine that Russian forces have captured in more than four years of war have effectively been forced to take Russian citizenship if they want to retain access to healthcare, pensions and property rights.

Human rights group Memorial, which Russia this month branded an extremist movement, named the woman as 66-year-old Larisa Belyayeva, a doctor from the village of Lyubimovka.

Ukraine began issuing war bonds in February 2022, immediately after Russia’s full-scale invasion, in order to fund its defence.

With reporting from Reuters

A 90bn euro EU loan for Ukraine could be revived after outgoing Hungarian prime minister vowed to lift his veto on the plan.

EU leaders had decided in December to jointly borrow the money to lend to Ukraine to fund its defence for this year and next, using frozen Russian funds as a potential backstop to ensure that Moscow ultimately pays.

How will Europe lend the money?

The EU will provide interest-free loans for the years 2026-2027 based on EU borrowing on capital markets backed by the EU budget headroom, which is the difference between the maximum amount the EU can ask EU members to contribute and the amount it needs to cover foreseen expenses. Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia secured exemptions.

Ukraine is not expected to pay the money back itself, with the capital only due for repayment once Russia pays war reparations after the conflict ends. Russia has central bank assets that are frozen in the EU which are worth around 210bn euros that could be used for the repayment.

The 90bn is to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s needs for the next two years, estimated at 135 billion euros in total. Of the total, Ukraine will get 45 billion euros in 2026 and another 45 billion in 2027. Each year, 28 billion euros will be for spending on military needs and 17 billion on general budget needs.