Ukraine: The Latest

Day 1,513.
Today, as Hungary’s new prime minister Péter Magyar signals he will not veto the €90 billion European Union loan for Ukraine – and Slovakia’s opposition to the package appears to be crumbling – we ask whether Brussels can finally get the funding approved. We report on a continued surge in Ukrainian airstrikes against high-value Russian targets, and consider whether the air war in Russia’s war against Ukraine is beginning to tilt in Kyiv’s favour. We also examine developments in Ukraine’s domestic politics, as former presidential aide Andriy Yermak faces scrutiny from the country’s anti-corruption authorities. And later, we bring you a special interview from Adélie’s recent trip to Ukraine with Asami Terajima on the military’s efforts to prevent troops going AWOL and visiting a Kharkiv morgue.

Contributors:
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.
Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.
With thanks to Asami Terajima – frontline reporter at the Kyiv Independent.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:
Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Top Zelensky allies Yermak, Arakhamia targeted in new searches, summons, source says (Kyiv Independent):
https://kyivindependent.com/yermak/

The Mushroom Captivating Wartime Ukraine (New Lines):
https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-mushroom-captivating-wartime-ukraine/

Russian air defenses are collapsing. Now Ukrainian warplanes can hit harder (Euromaidan):
https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/04/15/donetsk-airport-raid/

Inside Ukraine's AWOL and military desertion crisis
https://kyivindependent.com/inside-ukraines-awol-and-desertion-crisis/

As Ukraine war deaths mount, Kharkiv morgue strains to identify the truth
https://kyivindependent.com/you-cant-turn-off-your-emotion-inside-a-ukrainian-morgue-as-war-deaths-mount/

Coming of age during war, where mistakes can cost a life
https://kyivindependent.com/coming-of-age-during-war-where-mistakes-can-cost-a-life/

War Notes Newsletter
https://kyivindependent.com/newsletters/war-notes/

The Kyiv Independent doesn’t have a paywall or an owner and is supported by a
community of readers who make this work possible: https://kyivindependent.com/membership/?utm_source=membership-offline-arcola-theatre&utm_medium=offline&utm_campaign=pr

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on [email protected] . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,512.
Today, as Russian forces suffer more than 35,000 casualties in Ukraine in a single month – the highest rate of the war so far – we report on fresh strikes across Ukraine that have killed at least 17 civilians, including a 12 year old boy. We assess the outcome of the latest Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, and examine the dramatic first moves of Hungary’s new prime minister, who has vowed to shut down state television, describing it as “North Korean-style propaganda”. And later, we bring you the latest from Russia, including reaction in Moscow to the political fall of Viktor Orbán.

Contributors:
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.
Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.
James Kilner (Russia Analyst). @Jkjourno on X.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:
Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Child among 14 killed in Russian strikes (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/16/wave-of-russian-strikes-kills-14-in-ukraine/

Ukraine’s drones dent Russia’s war-fuelled oil windfall (Financial Times):
https://www.ft.com/content/d49e288f-b74e-44a8-a2f3-ec87f7cb5c27?syn-25a6b1a6=1

‘The pope versus the president: how Leo became Trump’s fearless foe’ (Financial Times):
https://www.ft.com/content/4f67aa87-9210-402d-bfef-b71b294d65cb?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Pope Pius II’s memoirs (Vol. I; Harvard University Press):
https://itatti.harvard.edu/publications/commentaries

The Border by Erika Fatland:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57950362-the-border

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on [email protected] . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,511.
Today, as the 50-nation Ukraine Defence Contact Group meets in Berlin just hours after President Zelensky signs a new defence cooperation pact with Germany, we assess the first moves of Hungary’s new prime minister and what they could mean for European support for Ukraine. We then take a deep dive into Russian military tactics and campaign design – including how Moscow consolidates control over occupied territories – with an expert from the Institute for the Study of War.

Contributors:
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
With thanks to Karolina Hird of the Institute for the Study of War.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:
Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Karolina Hird’s Occupation Updates for the ISW:
https://understandingwar.org/people/karolina-hird/

The SBU detained an FSB informant who, while working as a school principal in Kramatorsk, corrected shelling of the city (Ukrainian Government):
https://ssu.gov.ua/novyny/sbu-zatrymala-informatorku-fsb-yaka-pratsiuiuchy-zavuchem-shkoly-u-kramatorsku-koryhuvala-obstrily-mista

17-year-old Lithuanian who won the Norwegian Mathematical Olympiad donated the entire prize to Ukraine (LRT):
https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/svietimas/45/2887345/norvegijos-matematikos-olimpiadoje-laimejes-17-metis-lietuvis-visa-priza-paaukojo-ukrainai

Ukraine opens first Africa food supply center in Ghana (Kyiv Independent):
https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-links-food-aid-and-trade-with-ghana-agrohub/?mc_cid=d5c797f2f4&mc_eid=08d0680a95

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on [email protected] . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,510.
Today, as new evidence emerges that Russia is increasing sign-on bonuses to recruit more soldiers for its war in Ukraine, we report on efforts to ramp up defences around Vladimir Putin’s palace. We also examine dramatic political developments in Hungary, where the new prime minister has vowed to expose alleged Russian links – amid reports of document shredding by allies of former leader Viktor Orbán. And later, we speak to a former CIA operative about Russian disinformation tactics, the failures of Kremlin intelligence services, and what they have learned – and not learned – from the war.

Contributors:
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
With thanks to former CIA operative Sean M. Wiswesser.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:
Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Sean M. Wiswesser’s book, ‘Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War’:
https://a.co/d/04TANzGg

Putin has lost his best friend inside the EU. Who can he rely on now Orban has gone? (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/14/putin-loses-best-friend-orban/

Ukraine ‘forces Russians to surrender using only robots’ (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/14/ukraine-forces-russians-to-surrender-using-only-robots/

Putin’s house now protected by 27 air defence systems (Antonia Langford in The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/13/putins-house-now-protected-27-air-defence-systems-drones/

Zelensky's Ukraine's Defense Industry Worker Day Address (President's Office):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Br_kdXR-sk&t=56s

Starmer accused of ‘corrosive complacency’ over defence (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/14/starmer-accused-complacency-former-nato-chief-defence/

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on [email protected] . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,509.
Today, as Ukraine and the wider world react to the apparent rejection of Viktor Orbán’s model of “illiberal democracy” in Hungary, we ask: who is Péter Magyar, and what does his rise mean for Hungarian politics and Europe? As Hungarians confront a potential new political era, we examine whether real change is coming in Budapest – and how the European Union will handle the unresolved вопрос of the €90 billion loan for Ukraine. We also assess how much fighting actually paused during the Orthodox Easter ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine, and ask whether Vladimir Putin is ultimately a winner or loser from the recent global attacks on oil infrastructure.

Contributors:
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.
James Crisp (Europe Editor). @JamesCrisp6 on X.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:
Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Orban ousted in Hungarian election landslide (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/12/orban-concedes-defeat-hungarian-election/

How Orban’s ousting in Hungary undermines Putin (James Crisp in The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/13/orbans-ousting-hungary-undermines-putin/

What it’s like to be hunted by drones in Ukraine (Antonia Langford in The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/13/what-its-like-to-be-hunted-by-drones-in-ukraine/

Learn more about ‘The Light of Freedom – A Night for Ukraine’ fundraiser tomorrow:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/supportukraine/2051898

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on [email protected] . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.