Moscow has threatened to attack countries in the Baltic that are allowing Ukraine to use their airspace to fly drones to attack Russia.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova issued the warning after Kyiv used drones to attack the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, which are key to Moscow’s oil exports.
“If third countries have provided or are providing their territory for enemy drones to fly over, they must fully understand – and we are confident they do, because it has been explained to them – the risks they are exposing themselves to,” she said on Thursday.
Russian drones and aircraft have repeatedly violated European airspace, including fighter jet incursions into Estonia and unidentified drones flying over Copenhagen and Oslo airports.
The Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — are Nato members after gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Britain's defence minister John Healey said for a month the UK had tracked Russian submarines in the north Atlantic that were a threat to British cables and pipelines.
Russian drones damaged a power substation in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region. No injuries were reported.
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Ukraine and Russia exchanged the bodies of deceased soldiers on Thursday, officials said.
Kyiv received 1,000 bodies that Russia says belong to the Ukrainian military, the Ukrainian centre handling prisoner of war swaps said on the Telegram app.
Ukraine handed over 41 dead Russians, Russia's RBC news outlet cited lawmaker Shamsail Saraliyev as saying.
The two sides have periodically exchanged their war dead in the course of the conflict.
Daniel Keane9 April 2026 15:15
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Vance says Putin and Zelensky 'haggling over a few square kilometres'
US vice president JD Vance has accused Russia and Ukraine of holding out on a ceasefire for the sake of a small portion of territory.
Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged in combat along a frontline spanning over 1,200km (750 miles), four years after Vladimir Putin's invasion of his European neighbour.
"What I would say to both the Russians and the Ukrainians is, you know, we're talking about haggling at this point over a few square kilometres of territory in one direction or another. Is that worth losing hundreds of thousands of additional Russian and Ukrainian young men? Is that worth additional months or even years of higher energy prices and economic devastation? We think the answer is clearly no," Vance said.
He added that "it takes two to tango" and the Russians and Ukrainians must reach an agreement themselves.
It's unclear how Vance reached the figures in his remarks. Russia has demanded Ukraine give up the entirety of the Donbas region despite failing to take it by force, but Ukraine still controls around 20 per cent of Donetsk – roughly 5,300 square km or 2,000 square miles.
In March, Ukrainian forces recaptured nearly all the territory lost in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk industrial region, driving Russian troops out of more than 400 square kilometres (150 square miles).
Zelensky says reopening of Strait of Hormuz should not boost Russia's oil profits
Volodymyr Zelensky has said the reopening of the critical waterway the Strait of Hormuz was needed to stabilise oil prices but this should not add to Russia’s oil revenues.
“The announcement of a ceasefire in the Middle East allowed markets to respond positively – oil prices have tumbled. At the same time, this sends the right signal regarding Russia – there are effectively no grounds left to ease sanctions pressure,” he said last night on his X.
“Previously, easing sanctions was framed as a necessity to stabilise the global oil market. If the Strait of Hormuz can be unblocked – and this is a global necessity – Russia’s oil revenues should continue to decline,” Zelensky said, adding that oil fuels Russia’s war and emboldens it.
“This is precisely why Russia invested so heavily in supporting the Iranian regime and sought to prolong that war,” the Ukrainian president said.
Gulf crisis not distracting Britain from Russia, says Healey
“I’m pretty clear that Putin would want us to be distracted by the Middle East,” Healey says.
He says the recent actions show “we recognise Russia as the primary threat to the UK and to Nato” and “we will not take our eyes off Putin”, even while acting with allies in the Middle East
James Reynolds9 April 2026 11:19
UK tracking Russian subs in north Atlantic as threats to undersea cables grow
Britain's defence minister John Healey says at a press conference that the UK had tracked Russian submarines in the north Atlantic for a month, which he said was a threat to British cables and pipelines.
He said the UK was confident that there was no evidence Russia had damaged any cables or pipelines. He added that threats to undersea networks were increasing.
He said that he deployed the armed forces to track and deter any malign activity by these vessels.
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Vance says Putin and Zelensky 'haggling over a few square kilometres'
US vice president JD Vance has accused Russia and Ukraine of holding out on a ceasefire for the sake of a small portion of territory.
Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged in combat along a frontline spanning over 1,200km (750 miles), four years after Vladimir Putin's invasion of his European neighbour.
"What I would say to both the Russians and the Ukrainians is, you know, we're talking about haggling at this point over a few square kilometres of territory in one direction or another. Is that worth losing hundreds of thousands of additional Russian and Ukrainian young men? Is that worth additional months or even years of higher energy prices and economic devastation? We think the answer is clearly no," Vance said.
He added that "it takes two to tango" and the Russians and Ukrainians must reach an agreement themselves.
It's unclear how Vance reached the figures in his remarks. Russia has demanded Ukraine give up the entirety of the Donbas region despite failing to take it by force, but Ukraine still controls around 20 per cent of Donetsk – roughly 5,300 square km or 2,000 square miles.
In March, Ukrainian forces recaptured nearly all the territory lost in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk industrial region, driving Russian troops out of more than 400 square kilometres (150 square miles).
Ukrainian drones attack Russia's oil pumping station in Krasnodar Krai
A Russian oil pumping station in Krymsk of Krasnodar Krai was hit by Ukrainian drones overnight, local reports said.
Krymsk is located in the east of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
According to the Telegram channel Astra, an electrical substation at the Krymskaya oil pumping station caught fire as a result of the strike.
Several explosions were heard during the drone attack, locals in the city said.
Local authorities are yet to confirm the drone attack.
Krasnodar Krai governor Veniamin Kondratyev instead reported that debris from a drone fell on a field in the suburbs of Krymsk and on the territory of an “enterprise”.
He also said one person was killed in the nearby village of Sauk-Dere.
Zelensky welcomes Iran de-escalation and says Ukraine ready for ceasefire
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he is welcoming the ceasefire between the US and Iran, adding that Kyiv was ready to "respond in kind" if Moscow ceased strikes.
"Ukraine has always called for a ceasefire in the war waged by Russia here in Europe against our state and our people, and we support the ceasefire in the Middle East and the Gulf that paves the way for diplomatic efforts," he wrote on X.
"It is obvious to everyone that a ceasefire can create the right preconditions for agreements," he added.
Ukraine had previously praised US "decisiveness" in attacking Iran, which is a close ally of Russia and has supplied thousands of drones that have been used to hit Ukraine.
Kyiv has repeatedly called for Moscow to agree to a full ceasefire in its four-year war so that the two sides can negotiate a peace deal. Russia says it wants comprehensive terms for peace to be agreed before it stops fighting.
