Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces surrender to army robots in battlefield first, Zelensky saysnewsline24

A political shift in Hungary could unlock up to €90bn in support for Ukraine and inject fresh momentum into Kyiv’s long-stalled bid to join the European Union, according to the bloc’s enlargement chief.

Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos described the election defeat of long-serving Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban as a “big win for Europe”.

“I expect, personally, that this will have a positive effect on the accession process,” she said.

Hungary under Orban had effectively blocked the funding package, tying its veto to a dispute with Ukraine over a damaged pipeline carrying Russian oil – a move that frustrated other EU leaders.

“With the €90 billion, we can cover the financial needs of Ukraine in 2026 and 2027,” Kos said

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.”

As we earlier reported, Volodymyr Zelensky and German chancellor Friedrich Merz held a press conference on after a meeting in Berlin on Tuesday morning.

We can now bring you more lines from Merz, who announced plans to cooperate with Ukraine on drone and battlefield data technology.

He also urged Kyiv to push forward with reforms with an eye to joining the European Union in the future.

Merz said joining the EU would be a strategically important step, but added that it was not achievable in the immediate term.

As the long, dark night of Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule in Hungary came to an end this weekend, it wasn’t just the jubilant crowds crammed onto the bridges across the Danube that had a song in their heart. There are few political events about which you can reach for a quote from 1970s soul band Hot Chocolate – but today, “Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s no lie”.

For “the dictator”, as he was known in Brussels, has gone. Hungary has certainly won, Europe has won, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have lost their fifth-columnist ally on this continent, and Nigel Farage has lost a source of ideological inspiration.

But the biggest sigh of relief – at the sheer size of Peter Magyar’s election landslide – must have been in Kyiv. Cliche or not, we shouldn’t hesitate to call the end of Orban as a game-changer for Ukraine.

In recent years, Volodymyr Zelensky and his people have conducted their astonishingly successful resistance to the Russian invasion with bravery, solidarity and ingenuity – and in spite of a shortage of funds. The EU has long had a massive €90bn ready to lend to them – to pay for armaments, soldiers’ wages, and just to keep going – but the arrangement has been vetoed by the most stubborn and intractable of EU member states.

The Independent’s associate editor Sean O’Grady writes:

Ukraine is facing a major conscription crisis, just as Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that a protracted conflict in the Middle East will hamper its efforts to combat Russia’s invasion.

Earlier this year, Ukraine’s defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, admitted that Ukraine has 2 million draft-dodgers and hundreds of thousands more who are absent without leave (awol).

The Independent has spoken to Ukrainians on the ground about the reality of the situation, just as pressure mounts elsewhere for the war-torn country. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has shifted its focus from Ukraine to the conflict with Iran, while peace talks have stalled, and Vladimir Putin has launched his spring offensive.

The Kremlin has spoken out about internet restrictions, admitting they had caused disruption for many Russias but declaring that they are necessary for security reasons.

The restrictions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted, did not represent a return to the past.

Moscow has tightened its control over the internet since the start of its war in Ukraine in February 2022, blocking messenger apps and virtual private networks (VPN) used to bypass online censorship, and shutting down the mobile internet.

Peskov suggested that some of the measures were temporary in nature and would be lifted once it was safe to do so.

Others were related to tech companies not complying with Russian law, he said.

We heard earlier from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said Moscow satisfied that the new leader of Hungary, pro-EU Peter Magyar, wants to engage in pragmatic dialogue with Russia.

It comes after Peskov said on Monday that Moscow is looking forward to “continuing our highly pragmatic engagement with Hungary’s new leadership”.

“We noted Magyar’s statement regarding his willingness to engage in dialogue. Naturally, this will be beneficial for both Moscow and Budapest,” he said, adding that Russia was not sure what the stance of the new leadership would be.

Boris Johnson has hit out at the “delay” and “timidity” in helping Ukraine after travelling through the country unprotected during a 72-hour trip for a documentary.

The former prime minister travelled beyond the capital Kyiv to the so-called “kill zone” near the city of Zaporizhzhia where he witnessed first-hand the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The 61-year-old said Ukraine can and will win the war, but that “we are risibly failing to live up to our pledges” to the country, PA reports.

Mr Johnson said: “The Ukrainians are fighting the same war against the same drones that are being sent against civilians by the same alliance of tyrannies.

“We have spent four years psalming platitudes and telling them that their fight is our fight.

“On the basis of what I have seen, we are risibly failing to live up to our pledges, and to give them the help they need.

“The Ukrainians can win and will win.

“But our delay and our timidity continue to cause unimaginable human suffering.

“We are right to say that the Ukrainians are fighting for all of us – so why the hell are we still short-changing them?”

Mr Johnson’s three-day trip is the subject of a feature-length documentary film for Channel 5, produced by Soho Studios and Two Rivers Media.

Boris Johnson: Into The Kill Zone will show him alongside Ukrainian soldiers visiting locations including a secret drone base and makeshift bomb factory that is hidden inside abandoned cottages.

ukraine has carried out two previously undisclosed space‑intelligence missions during the war with Russia, a senior lawmaker revealed in an interview with RBC‑Ukraine.

According to MP Fedir Venislavskyi, operatives from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency launched carrier rockets from Ukrainian territory on two separate occasions, reaching altitudes of more than 100 kilometres in the first mission and 204 kilometres in the second. Both launches were recorded by technical monitoring systems.

Venislavskyi said the operations were not experimental tests but real wartime missions overseen by former military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov. He described the launches as unprecedented for a country engaged in active conflict, saying they demonstrated Ukraine’s ability to counter hostile systems operating in space.

The lawmaker also said Ukraine possesses missiles capable of striking targets up to 500 kilometres away at hypersonic speeds, noting that such systems are being used in combat but are primarily intended for “extraordinary operations”.