At least five people have been killed and 16 others have been injured after Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on multiple Ukrainian cities overnight, local officials said.
The explosions were reported from the cities of Poltava and Zaporizhzhia shortly before 3am.
Russia launched a total of 392 drones and 34 missiles in the overnight attack targeting multiple Ukrainian cities, Ukraine's air force said this morning.
Air defence units shot down or neutralised 25 missiles and 365 drones, the air force said in a post on Telegram.
The large-scale attacks killed two in the Poltava region, with Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Kharkiv each reporting one death, according to the AFP news agency.
The Russian strikes disconnected Moldova's key power link with Europe, president Maia Sandu said this morning.
"Alternative routes are in place, but the situation remains fragile. Russia alone bears responsibility," she said.
Poland scrambled fighter planes and allied aircraft to respond to the Russian strikes, though it later confirmed that “no violations of the country’s airspace were observed”.
Key Points
- Five killed in Russia's overnight attacks on Ukraine
- Russia loses more than 6,000 troops in four days, says Ukrainian military
- Ukraine seeing violence 'worse than ever', says UN official
- Ukraine has 'irrefutable' evidence of Russia providing intelligence to Iran, says Zelensky
- Poland scrambles warplanes to protect airspace from major Russian attack
UK says it 'will not cease' support for Ukraine and its people
11:00 , Arpan RaiBritain will continue to support Ukraine and its people, the UK chargé d’affaires to the UN told a Security Council meeting yesterday.
“Russia is now firing over 5,000 drones per month in Ukraine, five times higher than in 2024. The burden on Ukrainian civilians is immense,” James Kariuki said.
He said there have been more 50,000 Ukrainian civilian casualties and over 15,000 killed since Russia started its war.
“Mr President, the UK fully supports the diplomatic efforts of our US colleagues to secure a peace that guarantees Ukraine’s long-term security, sovereignty, and prosperity.
“We call on Russia to end its war of choice, immediately and without pre-conditions.
“The UK will not cease in our support for Ukraine and its people,” he said.
Ukraine seeing violence 'worse than ever', says UN official
10:40 , Arpan RaiThe violence being meted out in the Ukraine war is "worse than ever" more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, according to a UN official.
Rosemary DiCarlo, the head of UN political and peacebuilding affairs, said the conflict had caused “nearly 1,500 days of death, destruction and despair”, as she repeated the UN’s long-standing demand for a ceasefire.
She said at least 15,364 civilians were confirmed killed, including 775 children, and more than 42,000 others injured, though actual numbers are likely to be higher, since Russian president Vladimir Putin launched his offensive in February 2022.
“The suffering and destruction caused by the war in Ukraine can never be justified. The longer the war exists, the deadlier it becomes, with growing risks to regional and international security,” she said.
The official added that at least 188 civilians were killed in February alone, and 757 injured – a 45 per cent increase over the same period last year.
Russia loses more than 6,000 troops in four days, says Ukrainian military
10:10 , Arpan RaiRussian forces have suffered more than 6,000 casualties in the last four days after Vladimir Putin’s army attempted a renewed offensive to capture more land in Ukraine, officials said.
Ukrainian army commander Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said the Russian operations were a “colossal pressure” and their forces were beaten back.
“The enemy tried to break through the defensive formations of our troops in several strategic directions at once… In total, the enemy conducted 619 assault actions during these four days,” he said.
The Russian command, he said, threw tens of thousands of soldiers into the “meat assaults”.
“Over four days of intensive assault operations, the enemy lost more than 6,090 soldiers killed and wounded,” Syrskyi said, adding that Kyiv largely managed to repel the offensive.
Moscow security agencies put on higher alert over threat of attack from Ukraine
09:55 , Arpan RaiRussia's Federal Security Service (FSB), police and national guard in Moscow have been put on higher alert due to intelligence that there is a threat of a sabotage attack from Ukraine, Russia's state RIA news agency reported today.
The FSB, the main successor to the KGB, had received intelligence that Ukraine planned acts of sabotage and attacks on "government officials, military personnel of the Russian Defence Ministry and law enforcement officers”, according to the Russian state agency report.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of Russia's GRU military intelligence service, was shot three times in February with a Makarov pistol equipped with a silencer in an apartment block on the Volokolamsk highway in northern Moscow. He survived the attack.
Ukraine has 'irrefutable' evidence of Russia providing intelligence to Iran, says Zelensky
09:40 , Arpan RaiUkraine's military intelligence has "irrefutable" evidence that Russia continues to provide intelligence to Iran and such activity can only prolong the war in the Middle East, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
"Russia is using its own signals intelligence and electronic intelligence capabilities, as well as part of the data obtained through cooperation with partners in the Middle East," he said on X after meeting the head of military intelligence.
Zelensky, later in his nightly address, said there was "growing evidence" of continued Russian efforts to funnel intelligence to Iran.
“This is clearly destructive activity and must be stopped as it only leads to further destabilisation. All decent states are interested in guaranteeing security and preventing a larger crisis," he said.
“Markets are already reacting negatively and this is significantly complicating the fuel situation in many countries. By helping the Iranian regime survive and strike more accurately, Russia is effectively prolonging the war,” he said.
The Kremlin last week dismissed a Wall Street Journal report that Russia was sharing satellite imagery and improved drone technology with Iran as "fake news".
Russia's drone-hit Primorsk resumes oil loadings, data and sources show
09:23 , Arpan RaiRussia's Baltic Sea port of Primorsk has resumed crude oil loadings following a suspension of operations due to drone attacks, according to two industry sources and LSEG ship-tracking data.
Two of Russia's main Baltic Sea outlets, Primorsk and Ust-Luga, halted operations on Sunday after drone attacks. Ust-Luga resumed exports on Monday.
The local governor said the fuel reservoirs at Primorsk had caught fire following the drone attacks.
LSEG data showed that the oil tanker Anlan has been set up for loading at Primorsk's port facilities this morning.
A Ukrainian drone attack damaged fuel reservoirs at the oil export hub of Primorsk in northwestern Russia, regional authorities said yesterday.
Russian strikes in Ukraine cut Moldova's key power link to Europe
09:15 , Arpan RaiRussian strikes overnight on energy infrastructure in Ukraine disconnected Moldova's key power link with Europe, president Maia Sandu said this morning.
"Alternative routes are in place, but the situation remains fragile. Russia alone bears responsibility," she said in a statement on social media website X.
Five killed in Russia's overnight attacks on Ukraine
09:13 , Arpan RaiAt least five people have been killed and 16 others have been injured after Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on multiple Ukrainian cities overnight, local officials said.
The explosions were reported from the cities of Poltava and Zaporizhzhia shortly before 3am.
Ukraine’s air force warned the country of incoming Russian ballistic missiles around 2.45am local time.
The large-scale attacks killed two in the Poltava region, with Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Kharkiv each reporting one death, reported AFP.
The Russian strikes disconnected Moldova's key power link with Europe, president Maia Sandu said this morning.
“Alternative routes are in place, but the situation remains fragile. Russia alone bears responsibility," she said.
Poland scrambled fighter planes and allied aircraft to respond to the Russian strikes, though it later confirmed that “no violations of the country’s airspace were observed”.
Ukraine diplomat urges strikes on Russian drone production over Iran shipments
09:10 , Arpan RaiMoscow's shipment of modernised drones to Iran made Russian drone production sites legitimate military targets, a top Ukrainian diplomat said, urging Western powers to equip Ukraine with weapons capable of hitting those sites.
Ukraine's permanent representative to the United Nations, Andriy Melnyk, said Russia's support of Tehran with modernised versions of its Iranian-designed Shahed drones and other military support, meant it was now Tehran's main accomplice in the Middle East war.
Moscow has been using the Shahed drones against Ukraine since early in its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“The recent conflict in Iran has revealed how intertwined this crisis is with Russia's military invasion and the Kremlin's malign, imperialistic goals," he told a special Security Council session on the Ukraine war.
Russia's shipments of modernised versions of Iran's Shahed drones, using licences provided by Tehran, marked an unprecedented escalation that would allow Iran to attack Gulf countries and US forces in the region for a long period, destabilising the region and threatening the global economy, Melnyk said.
As a result, Russian drone production sites should be considered "legitimate targets for military strikes in the campaign against the mullah regime," he said.
Poland scrambles warplanes to protect airspace from major Russian attack on Ukraine
09:03 , Arpan RaiPolish Air Force said it scrambled fighter planes and allied aircraft to protect Poland’s eastern airspace in the early hours today after Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine.
Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command (DORSZ) announced on X that Polish and allied air forces had been deployed, including the on-duty fighter pair and early warning aircraft.
Ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems were also activated, they said.
Around 7am local time, DORSZ said the pre-emptive operations had ceased and “no violations of the country’s airspace were observed”.
Russia launched 426 drones and missiles at Ukraine, air force says
08:52 , Arpan RaiRussia has launched 392 drones and 34 missiles in an overnight attack targeting Ukrainian cities, Ukraine's air force said this morning.
Air defence units shot down or neutralised 25 missiles and 365 drones, the air force said in a post on Telegram.
Zelensky says Russia will open control stations for long-range drones in Belarus
08:40 , Arpan RaiRussia plans to open four ground control stations for long-range attack drones in Belarus, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, citing information from Ukraine's military intelligence service.
Zelensky, who in recent months has repeatedly warned about Belarus becoming more involved in Russia's war against Ukraine, added in comments on X that he had instructed the service's chief to inform Kyiv's partners about these plans.
Earlier in the now four-year-old war, Zelensky said Belarusian assistance had for a time intensified the damage inflicted by Russian attacks until Ukraine took action against it.
"We now have information from our intelligence that Russia intends to continue using the territory of Belarus and temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine to build ground control stations for long-range drones," he said.
"There will be responses to this. And they will be felt,” he said.
Kyiv identifies spy ring chief as Hungarian military intelligence officer
08:10 , Arpan RaiThe Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) says it has identified a Hungarian intelligence officer as the leader of a spy ring operating in western Ukraine.
Initially arrested in Zakarpattia Oblast by the SBU in early 2025, Zoltán Andre had recruited at least two former Ukrainian servicemen, according to a statement posted on service’s official Telegram channel.
The officer reportedly directed these informants to “gathering information on the region’s military defences, local social and political sentiments, and the population’s likely reaction in the event of a Hungarian military incursion.”
Between 2016 and 2020, Andre operated undercover in Georgia and was actively conducting “reconnaissance and sabotage operations” in Ukraine as early as 2021, according to the SBU.
Andre allegedly provided a variety of rewards in exchange for information, including money, Hungarian citizenship, and narcotics.
Russia's Saratov oil refinery halts work after drone attack, sources say
07:40 , Arpan RaiRussia’s Saratov oil refinery has been forced to shut down after a drone attack hit the facility on 21 March, sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
The crude distillation unit at the refinery has been shut down since the bombardment, they said.
Ukraine’s military said on Saturday that it had hit the Rosneft ROSN.MM refinery.
Russian governor of Saratov, Roman Busargin, said that civilian infrastructure had been hit but did not give details.
During a trading session at the St Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange on Monday, the company made no offers for petroleum products.
Watch: ISS captures images of Russian missile strike on Kyiv from space
07:10 , Arpan RaiPhoto: Russia's oil terminal set ablaze in Ukraine drone attack
06:40 , Arpan RaiThe Russian port of Primorsk, near the Finnish border, suffered damage in the latest round of drone attacks, the region's governor announced on Monday 23 March 2026, with Ukraine claiming responsibility.
One killed in Russian drone attack on electric train in Ukraine's Kharkiv region
06:30 , Arpan RaiA Russian drone attack on an electric train in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region killed a 61-year-old passenger, local prosecutors said this morning.
According to preliminary information, a Russian first-person-view drone (FPV) struck a carriage of the train that was at a station in a village of Slatyne at the time, the Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office said on Telegram.
Watch: Putin loses more than 8,000 troops in seven days, says Zelensky
06:15 , Arpan RaiUK says it 'will not cease' support for Ukraine and its people
05:57 , Arpan RaiBritain will continue to support Ukraine and its people, the UK chargé d’affaires to the UN told a Security Council meeting yesterday.
“Russia is now firing over 5,000 drones per month in Ukraine, five times higher than in 2024. The burden on Ukrainian civilians is immense,” James Kariuki said.
He said there have been more 50,000 Ukrainian civilian casualties and over 15,000 killed since Russia started its war.
“Mr President, the UK fully supports the diplomatic efforts of our US colleagues to secure a peace that guarantees Ukraine’s long-term security, sovereignty, and prosperity.
“We call on Russia to end its war of choice, immediately and without pre-conditions.
“The UK will not cease in our support for Ukraine and its people,” he said.
Russia recruits university students to fight Putin’s war
05:27 , Arpan RaiRussian authorities are increasingly turning to university students to bolster its army, according to a report in the Moscow Times.
At the Lunin College of Transport Technologies, college director Maria Kirsanova recently addressed students and urged them to “defend their Fatherland”.
“Who put the fear into you? Who will protect us?” she asked at a meeting with students, which was recorded by one of the attendants and published online.
“Are you all cowards here sitting and being scared for your lives?” she said, pulling up students for what she called a fear of returning home “in zinc coffins”.
Russia has struggled to keep finding new recruits for its grinding war of attrition in Ukraine, with its casualties rising into the hundreds of thousands.
Ukraine seeing violence 'worse than ever', says UN official
04:57 , Arpan RaiThe violence being meted out in the Ukraine war is "worse than ever" more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, according to a UN official.
Rosemary DiCarlo, the head of UN political and peacebuilding affairs, said the conflict had caused “nearly 1,500 days of death, destruction and despair”, as she repeated the UN’s long-standing demand for a ceasefire.
She said at least 15,364 civilians were confirmed killed, including 775 children, and more than 42,000 others injured, though actual numbers are likely to be higher, since Russian president Vladimir Putin launched his offensive in February 2022.
“The suffering and destruction caused by the war in Ukraine can never be justified. The longer the war exists, the deadlier it becomes, with growing risks to regional and international security,” she said.
The official added that at least 188 civilians were killed in February alone, and 757 injured – a 45 per cent increase over the same period last year.
Russia loses more than 6,000 troops in four days, says Ukrainian military
04:27 , Arpan RaiRussian forces have suffered more than 6,000 casualties in the last four days after Vladimir Putin’s army attempted a renewed offensive to capture more land in Ukraine, officials said.
Ukrainian army commander Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said the Russian operations were a “colossal pressure” and their forces were beaten back.
“The enemy tried to break through the defensive formations of our troops in several strategic directions at once… In total, the enemy conducted 619 assault actions during these four days,” he said.
The Russian command, he said, threw tens of thousands of soldiers into the “meat assaults”.
“Over four days of intensive assault operations, the enemy lost more than 6,090 soldiers killed and wounded,” Syrskyi said, adding that Kyiv largely managed to repel the offensive.
Ukraine has 'irrefutable' evidence of Russia providing intelligence to Iran, says Zelensky
03:57 , Arpan RaiUkraine's military intelligence has "irrefutable" evidence that Russia continues to provide intelligence to Iran and such activity can only prolong the war in the Middle East, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
"Russia is using its own signals intelligence and electronic intelligence capabilities, as well as part of the data obtained through cooperation with partners in the Middle East," he said on X after meeting the head of military intelligence.
Zelensky, later in his nightly address, said there was "growing evidence" of continued Russian efforts to funnel intelligence to Iran.
“This is clearly destructive activity and must be stopped as it only leads to further destabilisation. All decent states are interested in guaranteeing security and preventing a larger crisis," he said.
“Markets are already reacting negatively and this is significantly complicating the fuel situation in many countries. By helping the Iranian regime survive and strike more accurately, Russia is effectively prolonging the war,” he said.
The Kremlin last week dismissed a Wall Street Journal report that Russia was sharing satellite imagery and improved drone technology with Iran as "fake news".
Report by Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Oleh Ivashchenko.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 23, 2026
First, we have irrefutable evidence that the Russians continue to provide intelligence to the Iranian regime. Russia is using its own signals intelligence and electronic intelligence capabilities, as well… pic.twitter.com/ij5JE0XPkX
Zelensky says Russia will open control stations for long-range drones in Belarus
03:27 , Arpan RaiRussia plans to open four ground control stations for long-range attack drones in Belarus, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, citing information from Ukraine's military intelligence service.
Zelensky, who in recent months has repeatedly warned about Belarus becoming more involved in Russia's war against Ukraine, added in comments on X that he had instructed the service's chief to inform Kyiv's partners about these plans.
Earlier in the now four-year-old war, Zelensky said Belarusian assistance had for a time intensified the damage inflicted by Russian attacks until Ukraine took action against it.
"We now have information from our intelligence that Russia intends to continue using the territory of Belarus and temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine to build ground control stations for long-range drones," he said.
"There will be responses to this. And they will be felt,” he said.
Ukraine diplomat urges strikes on Russian drone production over Iran shipments
02:57 , Arpan RaiMoscow's shipment of modernised drones to Iran made Russian drone production sites legitimate military targets, a top Ukrainian diplomat said, urging Western powers to equip Ukraine with weapons capable of hitting those sites.
Ukraine's permanent representative to the United Nations, Andriy Melnyk, said Russia's support of Tehran with modernised versions of its Iranian-designed Shahed drones and other military support, meant it was now Tehran's main accomplice in the Middle East war.
Moscow has been using the Shahed drones against Ukraine since early in its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“The recent conflict in Iran has revealed how intertwined this crisis is with Russia's military invasion and the Kremlin's malign, imperialistic goals," he told a special Security Council session on the Ukraine war.
Russia's shipments of modernised versions of Iran's Shahed drones, using licences provided by Tehran, marked an unprecedented escalation that would allow Iran to attack Gulf countries and US forces in the region for a long period, destabilising the region and threatening the global economy, Melnyk said.
As a result, Russian drone production sites should be considered "legitimate targets for military strikes in the campaign against the mullah regime," he said.
Ukrainian drones strike Russian air defence systems
02:00 , Harriette BoucherUkraine destroyed two Buk air defense systems in a drone attack in Russia's Bryansk Oblast on Sunday.
Footage shared by Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, shows its military striking the two systems.
Mr Brovdi said a Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system and a transporter-loader vehicle of a Buk-M2 system were destroyed.
'Irrefutable evidence' Russia is providing intelligence to Iran, Zelensky claims
01:00 , Harriette BoucherThere is “irrefutable evidence” that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence, Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed.
The Ukrainian president said on Monday night that Russia was using its own signals intelligence and electronic intelligence capabilities, as well as data obtained through cooperation with partners in the Middle East.
“There is growing evidence that the Russians continue to provide the Iranian regime with intelligence support. This is clearly destructive activity, and it must be stopped, as it only leads to further destabilisation,” Zelensky said.
“All decent states are interested in guaranteeing security and preventing a larger crisis. Markets are already reacting negatively, and this is significantly complicating the fuel situation in many countries.
“By helping the Iranian regime stay afloat and strike more accurately, Russia is effectively prolonging the war. There must be a response.”
Zelensky turns to African nation to solve Ukraine’s energy crisis
00:00 , Harriette BoucherUkraine is seeking to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Mozambique as it grapples with severe energy shortages caused by relentless Russian attacks on its production infrastructure.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Kyiv's interest on Monday, after meeting with Mozambique's President Daniel Chapo.
Prior to the full-scale invasion, Ukraine met almost all of its gas needs through domestic production.
However, Russian strikes have significantly impacted this, leading to a loss of about half its gas output, according to Central Bank Governor Andriy Pyshnyi.
These attacks intensified last autumn, targeting crucial gas facilities in frontline regions across northeast and central Ukraine.
Speaking on the Telegram messaging app, Mr Zelensky suggested Kyiv could offer support to the southern African nation, which is battling an Islamist insurgency, in countering its security challenges.
He stated: "Ukraine is interested in additional energy supplies. Mozambique is interested in Ukraine's experience and technologies to strengthen its internal security and protect people from terror." No specific volumes of gas or details of any potential deal were provided.
Zelensky turns to African nation to solve Ukraine’s energy crisis
Ukraine wants to import gas from Mozambique, says Zelensky
Monday 23 March 2026 23:30 , Maira ButtPresident Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is interested in importing liquefied natural gas from Mozambique as it struggles to meet its energy needs after years of conflict.
“Ukraine is interested in additional energy supplies. Mozambique is interested in Ukraine's experience and technologies to strengthen its internal security and protect people from terror,” he said on Monday but did not provide any further details.
Mozambique is a major African gas producer and in January the country and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA announced they would relaunch an LNG project that had previously been halted as the country battled with an insurgency.
The project has the capacity to produce 13 million metric tons of LNG annually and is expected to make the country a major gas exporter.
In pictures: The latest from the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Monday 23 March 2026 22:30 , Maira Butt
Watch: ISS captures images of Russian missile strike on Kyiv from space
Monday 23 March 2026 21:30 , Maira ButtHungarian PM orders probe into wiretapping of minister over Russia links
Monday 23 March 2026 20:30 , Maira ButtHungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban has ordered a probe on into what he called a wiretapping of his foreign minister on Monday.
The alleged wiretapping is said to have occurred as Orban’s government sought to deal with the fallout from a media report about its links to Russia before an April election.
“We are dealing with two serious issues: there is evidence that Hungary's Foreign Minister was wiretapped, and we also have indications of who may be behind it. This must be investigated immediately,” Orban wrote in a post on X on Monday.
The Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing a European security official, that foreign minister Peter Szijjarto had made regular calls during breaks at EU meetings for years to brief his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov with “live reports on what's been discussed.”
Szijjarto dismissed the report on Sunday as “fake news.”
An EU Commission spokesperson said that the reports were worrying and that they expected clarification from Hungary.
