Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukrainian police chief resigns after officers ‘disgracefully’ flee Kyiv shooting

Four decades on from the nuclear disaster, Chernobyl 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.

Ukrainian military is working to procure 25,000 ground robotic systems to send in the warzone against invading Russian forces in the first half of this year, its defence ministry said.

Defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine will double the total procured robotic systems throughout 2025.

“Our goal — 100 per cent of frontline logistics should be performed by robotic systems,” he said, adding that the expansion follows a meeting with domestic manufacturers of unmanned ground systems, where the ministry outlined its goal of scaling robotic support across the battlefield.

This comes just days after president Volodymyr Zelensky announced that in a rare historic battlefield first, Ukraine’s ground robotic systems of drones and ammunitions were able to recapture land from the Russian forces and saved 22,000 lives in the process.

Ukrainian forces carried out more than 9,000 logistics and evacuation missions using ground robots in March alone, and approximately 21,500 missions during the first quarter of 2026, according to the government.

Ukraine drone strikes targeted industrial areas in Novokuibyshevsk and Syzran in Russia’s Samara region, local governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said on Saturday.

He did not give further details, but the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a statement that it had hit major oil refineries in both cities.

It also said that its attacks had sparked fires at the Vystosk oil terminal in Russia’s northwestern Leningrad region and an oil refinery in the southern Krasnodar region, with the blazes later confirmed by Russian officials.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil facilities in the past, but the strategy has gained more attention since the Trump administration gave Russian oil a temporary waiver from sanctions to ease supply constraints.

The US treasury department extended its pause on sanctions on Russian oil shipments on Friday, despite complaints from Kyiv officials that Russia will use the additional revenue on new weapons to hit Ukraine harder.

The so-called general license means US sanctions will not apply for 30 days on deliveries of Russian oil that has been loaded on tankers as of Friday. It extended a similar 30-day license issued in March for Russian oil that had been loaded by 11 March.

Hungary’s ​incoming prime minister Peter Magyar has announced talks with EU officials in Budapest, saying there is no time to waste in his efforts to unblock ⁠funds frozen by the bloc over disputes with his predecessor.

Magyar, whose landslide victory in the 12 April election spelled the end of nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule, said he would kickstart the discussions by setting out points where he and the ⁠EU already agreed.

“I expect a constructive ​negotiation. ⁠It will not be easy because we have very little time,” he told a news conference.

He said the chief of ⁠staff of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen would arrive at ​around ⁠5pm local time as part ‌of a high-level delegation.

“The aim is… to map out before the new government is formed what we agree on and what are ‌the conditions that the next parliament can pass ‌as a law and comply with European conditions,” Magyar said.

The clearance of the funds will also pave for a critical loan for Ukraine, earlier blocked by Orban.

Markets have rallied on ‌Magyar’s victory with hopes that the EU will unblock billions ​of euros of funds and help an economy at near-stagnation.

Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence says it ⁠struck two “large” Russian landing ships ⁠in occupied Crimea.

The strike took place overnight on Sunday and involved two vessels from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol Bay, the GUR said.

Yevhen Zhukov, ⁠the head of Ukraine’s Patrol Police – a division of the national police service whose duty is to patrol the streets – resigned yesterday after social media circulated a video showing patrol officers running away after hearing gunfire, leaving civilians without protection.

At least six people were killed and eight people, including a child, remain hospitalised in Kyiv after being wounded in a shooting, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

“The police officers acted unprofessionally and disgracefully. As police officers, they should have been helping and rescuing our citizens. But they failed to assess the situation properly and left civilians in danger,” online media outlet RBC Ukraine quoted Zhukov as saying.

“As a combat officer, I have decided to submit my resignation from the position I ‌currently hold,” Zhukov added.

Earlier yesterday, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said the officers’ behaviour was “a disgrace to the ​entire system”. An investigation has been launched and decisions will be made regarding their superiors.

Ukraine is holding discussions with several European nations about the creation of a new defence ​system against ballistic weapons, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“I believe, and my idea is ​that ⁠we should have a ‌European anti-ballistic missile defence system. We are in talks with several countries and are working in this ‌direction,” Zelensky told the national TV channel, ‌Marathon.

“We need to build our own anti-ballistic missile defence system within a year,” he added.

Zelensky said the task ⁠is extremely difficult but realistic, and added that he had already discussed it with key European countries, though he did not name them.

Defence against ballistic missiles is one of Ukraine’s biggest challenges in the war with Russia, since only certain types of missiles used by the American Patriot system ⁠are capable of intercepting Russian ​ballistic ⁠missiles.

Russia uses ballistic missiles to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, destroying thermal power generation and electricity ⁠transmission systems.

Fire Point, maker of Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missile, told Reuters this month that it was ‌in talks with European companies to launch a ​new air defence system by next year, ‌creating a low-cost alternative ⁠to the increasingly hard-to-get Patriot system.

Patriot missiles ⁠are in short supply amid extensive deployment in the Gulf ‌against Iranian ​attacks. And Europe’s only anti-ballistic ‌system, the Italo-French SAMP/T, ​is produced in relatively small numbers.

Citing an intelligence report from Ukraine‘s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelensky revealed concerns over “road construction in areas leading to Ukraine and the establishment of artillery positions… in the Belarusian border area”.

He added: “We believe that Russia will once again try to involve Belarus in its war.”

In response, Ukraine has reportedly issued instructions to warn the Belarusian leadership of “Ukraine’s readiness to defend its land and independence”.

Zelensky also suggested that intelligence indicates Russia is “attempting … to carry out a regrouping of forces – most likely to compensate for a shortage of personnel”, which he believes explains the increased military activity within Belarus.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has shared details of a landmark agreement with three key Middle Eastern nations, aimed at bolstering their drone capabilities against Iran.

“We have already reached 10-year agreements with three key countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. We already have requests from 11 countries – the Middle East and the Gulf, plus we’re also gradually turning our attention to the Caucasus,” he said on X last night.

Zelensky added: “Within this Drone Deal, there will be at least 10 different agreements covering various categories of Ukrainian weapons exports. Co-production is planned – the construction of our production lines both in Ukraine and in other countries.”

This will also include new technologies that Ukraine and its Gulf allies are “developing jointly with various countries, in which they are investing,” he said, adding that an annual funding agreement for a specific amount, along with a fixed number of years, has also been signed.

Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that the IMF had agreed during talks in Washington that the ⁠introduction of VAT tax on self-employed individuals was “not-constructive” due to the sensitivity of the issue in Ukraine.

The tax was ⁠part of a ​raft ⁠of reforms agreed with the Fund as conditions for an $8bn loan approved in February. Ukrainian ​officials ⁠have since warned ‌that its introduction would prove highly unpopular and it lacked the required ‌support in parliament.

“During the Spring ‌Meetings, we found understanding from our partners that this is indeed a sensitive ⁠topic and a not-constructive idea,” Svyrydenko said on the Telegram app, adding she had held consultations with both IMF and European officials.

“We will continue to work together on the necessary decisions ‌and explore other alternative measures ​to ensure the revenue part ‌of the budget ⁠for 2027.”

Several Ukrainian legislators ⁠suggested on social media on Sunday that a ‌decision regarding ​the tax had ‌only been postponed, not ​cancelled.