❗️Ukraine has received PAC-3 Patriot missiles from Germany, Zelensky announced. Berlin had pledged the missiles at the most recent Ramstein meeting.
❗️Hungary's energy state secretary Gabor Csepek led a group to Ukraine for alleged Druzhba pipeline talks, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs announced. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said the group has no official status and no scheduled meetings, having entered as regular Schengen visa-free visitors. "It is incorrect to call them a delegation," Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi sai...
The Kremlin-linked Social Design Agency has developed a disinformation campaign backing Orbán ahead of Hungary's elections, the Financial Times reported. The campaign portrays Orbán as a strong sovereign leader and Magyar as a "Brussels puppet without external support." To avoid exposure, the agency used Hungarian influencers rather than direct contact with Orbán's circle.
❗️Turkish President Erdogan called for the war against Iran to stop before it escalates and sets the entire region on fire, saying diplomacy must be given a chance. "Turkey is not a country that turns its back on friends and brothers in times of crisis," he said.
EU member states are preparing €30 billion in bilateral loans to Ukraine that would bypass Hungary and Slovakia's veto on the bloc's €90 billion loan package, two diplomatic sources told Politico. The funds, led by Nordic and Baltic states, would cover Ukraine's budget deficit and war costs through mid-year.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump's claim that Iranian Tomahawk missiles killed 170 people including children at a girls' school "goes beyond absurdity." "Iran does not have Tomahawk missiles, Donald Trump. He says whatever comes to his mind, regardless of the truth," Schumer said.
Democratic Senator Blumenthal said after a Trump administration Senate briefing on the Iran war: "I am more fearful than I have ever been. We may be putting boots on the ground." He said administration priorities remain unclear across nuclear capacity, missiles, regime change, and terrorism.
❗️Ukraine offered the United States a drone technology deal involving the transfer of Ukrainian UAV developments and technologies, President Zelensky confirms. Zelensky says Kyiv wants the agreement signed directly with President Trump.
Ukrainian forces struck a plant in Bryansk that produces control systems for Russian missiles, President Zelensky confirmed. Zelensky says he received the report from commander in chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Thieves. Hungary seized an $80 million cash shipment and said it will keep the money for now to pressure Ukraine to reopen the Druzhba pipeline, minister János Lázár says.
❗️President Zelensky has signed a law mandating the construction of shelters in all new residential buildings and infrastructure facilities as part of reforms to the national civil protection system.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei “would be wise to heed the words of President Trump” as Washington pursues a specific mission against Iran. Hegseth adds the United States does not target civilians while Iran does.
Europe reduced nuclear energy from about one third of electricity generation in 1990 to around 15 percent today, a decision that was a strategic mistake, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says.
A Fidesz MP has submitted a bill to temporarily confiscate the Oschadbank funds seized from Ukrainian couriers for up to 60 days pending a tax authority investigation. Fidesz parliamentary group leader Mate Kocsis said the bill will be debated under an expedited procedure.
❗️Putin warned that oil production linked to the Strait of Hormuz risks a complete halt within the coming month, while saying current high energy prices are temporary. He added Russia is ready to supply European buyers long-term if they drop sanctions policy.