Donald Trump has said the US will loosen oil-related Ukraine war sanctions on “some countries” after an hour-long phone call with Vladimir Putin.
The call was the first between the two leaders since US and Israeli forces launched attacks on Iran, sparking a conflict that has seen global energy prices skyrocket.
Trump said they discussed both the Ukraine war and the conflict in the Middle East during a "very good call". He said they had a "positive" discussion about the European conflict despite what he called "tremendous hatred" between Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump said Putin offered help bringing a quick diplomatic end to the Iran war. “I said, ‘You could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine–Russia war over with. That will be more helpful,’” Trump told reporters.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian interceptor drones and operators were already on the ground in US bases in Jordan, having arrived last week.
He said Kyiv had received another “11 requests from countries neighbouring Iran, European states, and the US” and that some had been met with “concrete decisions and specific support”.
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Key Points
- Ukrainian drone specialists travelling to Middle East, Zelensky says
- Trump told Putin to get Ukraine war 'over with' in call
- Netherlands' new PM to strengthen sanctions against Russia’s 'shadow fleet'
- ICYMI: Russian drone strikes passenger train
- Russia intercepts 234 drones in nine hours
- Russia loses 930 troops in a day, Ukraine says
Russian drone injures six by apartment block in Ukraine's Kharkiv
05:00 , Shweta SharmaA Russian drone struck an area near a high-rise apartment building on Monday in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, injuring six people, smashing windows and setting cars ablaze, the city’s mayor said.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a small child was among the injured.
Kharkiv, located about 30km (18 miles) from the Russian border, withstood early advances by Russian forces following their full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has since been a frequent target of Russian air attacks.
Separately, Russian shelling in the southeastern city of Dnipro injured seven people, regional Governor Oleksandr Ganzha said on Telegram. Ganzha posted photos online showing rubble strewn across streets and damaged building facades.
Ukraine biathlete credits ChatGPT for silver win
04:38 , Shweta SharmaUkraine’s Maksym Murashkovskyi credited artificial intelligence for helping him win a silver medal at the Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics, calling ChatGPT a “revolutionary technology” after finishing runner-up in Sunday’s biathlon event.
Murashkovskyi, a bronze medallist at the 2023 world championships, was edged out by China’s Dang Hesong and narrowly missed gold.
“For the past six months, I have been training with ChatGPT,” the 25-year-old told reporters.
“It was not only tactics. It was half of my training plan – motivation, and so on. So it made up a huge part of my training.
“I used it as a psychologist, coach and sometimes even as a doctor.”
He added that artificial intelligence could eventually replace some aspects of the work done by human coaches.
“Not completely for five to 10 years. But part of it, definitely,” he said. “I believe in it – it is a revolutionary technology.”
Ukraine have won 10 medals at this year’s Paralympics so far.
Putin suggests 'quick political and diplomatic end' to Iran war during call with Trump, aide says
03:40 , Shweta SharmaDonald Trump said Vladimir Putin “wants to be helpful” with the Iran conflict after his call with the Russian leader.
Putin and Trump had their first call since the beginning of the war with Iran.
“I said, ‘You could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine–Russia war over with. That will be more helpful,’” Trump told reporters during a press conference at his Florida golf club.
A foreign policy aide to Putin said on Monday that the Russian president had proposed an idea for a “quick political and diplomatic end to the Iranian conflict”.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that the two leaders held hour-long call, initiated by the United States, focused on the conflicts involving Iran and Ukraine.
Trump told reporters he had a “very good call” with Putin about Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.
“There’s tremendous hatred between President Putin and (Ukraine’s) President Zelensky. They can’t seem to get it together, but I think it was a positive call on that subject,” Trump said.
Trump has recently expressed dismay about the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which began more than four years ago.
Trump to ease oil sanctions on some countries after Putin call
03:15 , Shweta SharmaDonald Trump has said the US plans to waive oil-related sanctions on “some countries” to ease the shortage triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran following his call with Vladimir Putin.
“So we have sanctions on some countries. We’re going to take those sanctions off until the Strait [of Hormuz] is up,” he told reporters.
The US president declined to provide further details.
Last week, the United States issued a temporary waiver allowing India to purchase certain Russian oil cargoes to help offset the loss of supplies from the Middle East.
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to most oil tankers, benchmark crude prices surged past $100 a barrel on Monday – their highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – before easing slightly this morning.
Abramovich lawyers insist £2.5bn from Chelsea sale is still his and blame government for delays over funds
03:00 , Alex CroftLawyers representing Roman Abramovich have insisted that the £2.5bn proceeds from the sale of Chelsea football club belong entirely to him, and have warned that he will fight any attempt to confiscate the funds.
In a growing row between the oligarch and the government, Mr Abramovich’s legal team has also insisted ministers are responsible for the delay in releasing the funds for victims of the Ukraine war, claiming in a letter that this was always his intention and something he will do voluntarily when the assets are no longer tied up in a legal case.
But the letter has drawn a furious response from the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, who told The Independent: “It is time Roman Abramovich does the right thing, but if he won’t, we will act.”
Political editor David Maddox reports:
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Roman Abramovich lawyers insist £2.5bn from Chelsea sale is still his
Trump downplays importance of Russia reportedly sharing intel with Iran to help it hit US targets
02:01 , Alex CroftPresident Donald Trump said that it was inconsequential if Russia has provided Iran with information to help Tehran target US military personnel and assets in the Middle East as the week-old war rages.
The president dismissed the import of such information-sharing after he attended the dignified transfer for six Army reservists who were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait the day after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran that has unsettled the global economy.
Trump stopped short of confirming reports by The Associated Press and other news outlets that U.S. intelligence officials believe Russia has provided Iran with such targeting information.
But if Moscow is passing on such details, he said Iran was getting little out of it."If you take a look at what's happened to Iran in the last week, if they're getting information, it's not helping them much," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew to Miami, where he's spending the rest of the weekend.
The president also waved off a question about how Russia assisting Iran in such a way might affect his view of the US-Russia relationship.
"They'd say we do it against them," Trump responded. "Wouldn't they say that we do it against them?
"Ukraine, in the four years since it was invaded by Russia, has received US intelligence to help defend against incoming missiles from Russia as well as to help Kyiv hit certain Russian targets.
Russia’s secret help to Iran that could enrage Trump
01:01 , Alex CroftRussia loses 930 troops in a day, Ukraine says
00:01 , Alex CroftRussia has lost 1,273,290 troops since the start of the full scale invasion in 2022, according to Ukraine’s armed forces.
The number includes 930 casualties suffered over one day in the weekend.
The figures, reported early Sunday, are broadly supported by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, which assessed 1.2m casualties since Feb 2022 earlier this year.
That figure included killed, missing and wounded.
Trump told Putin to get Ukraine war 'over with' in call
Monday 9 March 2026 23:11 , Rebecca WhittakerUS President Donald Trump said he had a “very good call” with Vladimir Putin. He told Putin to get the Ukraine and Russia war “over with”.
"We had a lot of people on the line from our side, from his side. We were talking about Ukraine, which is just never ending fight, and when look, there's tremendous hatred between President Putin and President Zelensky, they can't seem to get it together, “ Mr Trump said during a press conference.
“But I think it was a positive call on that subject. And we obviously talked then about the Middle East, and he wants to be helpful. I said, you could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine, Russia war over with."
In pictures: Volunteers distribute humanitarian aid in the Donetsk region
Monday 9 March 2026 23:01 , Alex Croft
Putin accuses West of 'systemic mistake' over Ukraine
Monday 9 March 2026 22:04 , Alex CroftVladimir Putin said the crisis in Ukraine stemmed from Western support for the 2014 change of power in Kyiv, accusing Western countries of making a “systemic mistake”.
Speaking to journalist Pavel Zarubin on Russia’s Vesti programme, the Russian president said the conflict began after Western backing for the political upheaval in Kyiv, followed by developments in Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
"One could say that everything happening now [in Ukraine] is undoubtedly a mistake, first and foremost by Western countries. A systemic mistake," he added, according to Tass news agency.
Putin also accused Ukraine’s leadership of manipulating European countries, describing the situation as “the tail wagging the dog”.
"The situation is very strange. Because I get the impression that we are dealing with a case that is called ‘the tail wagging the dog,’ rather than the other way around," he said.
He added that Western nations were now “reaping what they sowed” through their policies towards Ukraine, and warned that tensions had pushed the situation on global energy markets to the limit.
EU will always stand with Ukraine despite other crises, von der Leyen says
Monday 9 March 2026 21:02 , Alex CroftThe EU will always stand with Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, no matter what is happening elsewhere, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday
Speaking at a conference for EU ambassadors, Ms von der Leyen added that the EU would deliver on its commitments on financing for Ukraine.
Ukrainian drone specialists travelling to Middle East, Zelensky says
Monday 9 March 2026 20:01 , Alex CroftVolodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukrainian drone specialists would travel to the Middle East “next week”, as Kyiv seeks additional US air defence missiles in exchange for its battlefield expertise in countering drones.
Ukraine is facing a shortage of the costly PAC-3 air defence missiles supplied by the United States, and officials fear that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could further disrupt supplies.
Asked how Kyiv intended to help the US and its Gulf allies counter drone attacks, Zelensky said it was too early to provide details.
“It is too early to say anything else at this stage,” he said, adding: “I think that next week, when the experts are on site, they will assess the situation and help.”
Analysis | I’m an international security expert. Here’s what the Iran conflict means for Russia and Ukraine
Monday 9 March 2026 19:01 , Alex CroftAs the war in the Middle East spreads and intensifies, the one in Ukraine continues. While geographically some 2,500km (1,600 miles) apart, the consequences of US President Donald Trump’s latest military adventure for the Russian war against Ukraine will be acutely felt across several areas. In the short term, the Kremlin will probably feel emboldened to double down on its aggression, but this is unlikely to shift the dial significantly towards Russian victory in the long term.
The targeted killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by a precision US strike would have reminded the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, of his reportedly “apoplectic” reaction to the killing of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011. Comments on social media from the likes of far-right Russian nationalist Alexander Dugin, who posted, that “one by one, our allies are being systematically destroyed”, and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who alleged that the “talks with Iran were just a cover”, are unlikely to have steadied Putin’s nerves.
Stefan Wolff writes:
Watch: Rescue operations continue in Kharkiv as Kyiv says Moscow used new weapon in deadly attack
Monday 9 March 2026 18:03 , Alex CroftOrban asks EU to suspend sanctions on Russian energy
Monday 9 March 2026 17:00 , Alex CroftHungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has said that he asked European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in a letter to suspend all sanctions on Russian energy, as that was needed to stop a rise in crude oil prices in Hungary.
Mr Orban also said in a video posted on his Facebook page that he called a government meeting for later in the day to "prevent the price of diesel and gasoline from rising to unbearable levels."
Zelensky says Ukraine has received 11 requests for drone interceptors
Monday 9 March 2026 16:01 , Alex CroftVolodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine had received 11 requests from countries neighboring Iran as well as European states and the United States for drone interceptors, electronic warfare systems and training.
"We also reviewed in detail requests from the states for security support from our side in countering 'Shahed' drones and other similar challenges," Mr Zelensky said on Telegram after meeting his top military and government officials.
"Some requests have already been met with concrete decisions and specific support."
I held a Staff meeting. Our primary focus was the destabilization caused by the war in Iran and the corresponding risks for global markets, the countries of the region, and Ukraine’s closest partners who support us in defending against Russian aggression. The issue is complex –… pic.twitter.com/ibFpnGH15i
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 9, 2026
Hungary's ruling party drafts bill to allow tax authority keep seized Ukrainian cash and gold
Monday 9 March 2026 14:59 , Alex CroftHungary's ruling Fidesz party has submitted a bill to authorise the tax authority to withhold the cash and gold it seized last week from two Ukrainian armoured bank vehicles for as long as the tax probe is ongoing, according to parliament's website.
Hungary said on Friday it had detained seven Ukrainians carrying around $82 million in cash and gold on suspicion of money laundering.
Kyiv accused Budapest of taking bank employees hostage amid a dispute over oil shipments.
Zelenskyy says he's reluctant to repair pipeline that brings Russian oil to Central Europe
Monday 9 March 2026 11:00 , Shweta SharmaUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that he would prefer not to repair a damaged oil pipeline that delivers Russian crude to Central Europe despite rising tensions with neighboring Hungary and Slovakia over interruptions to oil flows.
Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia have been halted since 27 Jan after what Ukrainian officials say were Russian drone attacks that damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukrainian territory.
The populist leaders of Hungary and Slovakia, which unlike most European Union countries continue to import Russian fossil fuels, have accused Ukraine of deliberately holding up supplies. Kyiv says that continuous Russian strikes mean that carrying out repairs puts technicians in danger, and that even if repaired, Druzhba would remain vulnerable to further attacks.
In a news conference on Thursday, Zelensky expressed his reluctance to repair the pipeline despite Hungarian and Slovak demands.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t restore it. This is my position," Zelensky said.
Zelenskyy says he's reluctant to repair pipeline that brings Russian oil to Central Europe
Ukraine in pictures as humanitarian crisis deepens
Monday 9 March 2026 10:30 , Shweta SharmaNew pictures from rural Ukraine show women and children gathering to receive aid at a support centre, where humanitarian assistance is distributed by volunteers.
Millions of people remain displaced across the country, while repeated missile and drone attacks on energy facilities, homes and transport networks have left many communities struggling with power cuts, damaged housing and limited access to basic services.
Frontline regions in the east and south have been particularly hard hit, with towns frequently coming under shelling and residents forced to rely on humanitarian aid for food, water and medical care.
Putin accuses West of 'systemic mistake' over Ukraine
Monday 9 March 2026 10:00 , Shweta SharmaVladimir Putin said the crisis in Ukraine stemmed from Western support for the 2014 change of power in Kyiv, accusing Western countries of making a “systemic mistake”.
Speaking to journalist Pavel Zarubin on Russia’s Vesti programme, the Russian president said the conflict began after Western backing for the political upheaval in Kyiv, followed by developments in Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
"One could say that everything happening now [in Ukraine] is undoubtedly a mistake, first and foremost by Western countries. A systemic mistake," he added, according to Tass news agency.
Putin also accused Ukraine’s leadership of manipulating European countries, describing the situation as “the tail wagging the dog”.
"The situation is very strange. Because I get the impression that we are dealing with a case that is called ‘the tail wagging the dog,’ rather than the other way around," he said.
He added that Western nations were now “reaping what they sowed” through their policies towards Ukraine, and warned that tensions had pushed the situation on global energy markets to the limit.
It’s too dangerous to see my own children, Ukraine’s president Zelensky admits
Monday 9 March 2026 09:30 , Shweta SharmaHow often does the man who is the prime target of his neighbour’s assassins, has survived numerous plots to kill him, and lives under bombardment, see his family?
The answer for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is “not much”.
But that is also the lot of hundreds of thousands of soldiers in his country and the millions of children who, like his own, go to school, or take courses at home because Vladimir Putin wants them dead too.
“Our children at school, they study and they have to run very quickly to shelters,” Zelensky told The Independent’s World of Trouble podcast in an exclusive interview.
“They have to do it. It doesn’t matter where they study, in the capital or closer to the front line, because the missile is not choosing where to go. They just bring destruction… So that’s why all our children are in danger.”
Read the full report.
It’s too dangerous to see my own children, Ukraine’s Zelensky admits
Sweden boards cargo ship believed to be stateless in the Baltic Sea
Monday 9 March 2026 09:00 , Shweta SharmaSwedish authorities are currently investigating a cargo ship in the Baltic Sea, which they suspect is a stateless vessel.
The vessel, named Caffa, was sailing in Swedish territorial waters on Friday under a Guinean flag when it raised suspicions among officials, according to Swedish police.
The Swedish Coast Guard subsequently boarded the ship to conduct a search and interviews, with particular concerns about its seaworthiness. Further information regarding the Caffa remains undisclosed at this time.
Sweden last year said it would step up insurance checks on foreign ships in a move aimed at tightening controls on Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet ” of aging ships. Russia uses its shadow fleet to transport oil and gas or to carry stolen Ukrainian grain. The average age of the vessels is around 18 years, meaning they’re near the end of their life span and are more vulnerable to accidents, especially if they’re not well-maintained.
Authorities have not said whether they believe the Caffa is part of the shadow fleet.
‘I lost my husband in the Ukraine war - I came to Dubai to be safe’
Monday 9 March 2026 08:30 , Shweta SharmaUkrainian widow Olga Garbuz, who lost her husband to the war in Ukraine, came to Dubai with her daughter in 2022 to rebuild her life.
But the recent escalation in the Gulf has revived the fears she thought she had left behind.
“The war in Ukraine took many things from me and my daughter. My husband got killed. We got displaced multiple times. I cannot imagine going through any of these again,” Ms Garbuz tells The Independent.
Her husband, Yuriy Volchkov, was killed in Kharkiv, a frontline city in eastern Ukraine, in March 2022, when the vehicle he was travelling in to distribute humanitarian aid was shot at by the Russians. He was 45 years old.
Read the full report.
Zelensky says Ukraine's support in Middle East should be 'beneficial for both sides'
Monday 9 March 2026 08:00 , Shweta SharmaVolodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is preparing to send experts to the Middle East to help protect civilians and support US troops deployed in the region, but said it is too early to release details.
Writing on X, Zelensky said Kyiv had received requests about how it could assist civilians in the Middle East and American soldiers stationed in certain countries, adding that Ukraine had offered to deploy specialists and provide the necessary capabilities to help strengthen protection.
“We have received some messages regarding how to help civilians in the Middle East and how to help American soldiers deployed in certain countries,” he said.
“We responded: we will send experts and provide everything needed to protect them. Many issues are being discussed in this dialogue. If we are talking about increasing capabilities, we would very much like this to be a beneficial for both sides. We discuss this track.”
“If we are talking about increasing capabilities, we would very much like this to be beneficial for both sides,” Zelensky said, adding that further details would become clearer after the first meetings once the experts arrive.
Putin threatens shutting off Russian gas supplies to Europe
Monday 9 March 2026 07:30 , Shweta SharmaRussian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that Moscow could cease gas supplies to European markets, pivoting instead to more "promising" global buyers.
The comments come as the European Commission prepares to table a legal proposal on 15 April to permanently ban Russian oil imports, a move anticipated three days after Hungary's parliamentary election, according to EU officials and a Reuters document.
Speaking to Russian state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin, Mr Putin stated: "And now other markets are opening up. And perhaps it would be more profitable for us to stop supplying the European market right now.
“To move into those markets that are opening up and establish ourselves there."
He clarified, however, that this was "not a decision, it is, in this case, what is called thinking out loud. I will definitely instruct the government to work on this issue together with our companies."
Ukraine in brief: The key developments this morning
Monday 9 March 2026 07:00 , Shweta Sharma- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian drone experts will travel to the Middle East next week, offering expertise in counter-drone warfare as Kyiv seeks additional US air defence missiles amid a shortage of PAC-3 interceptor missiles used in the Patriot air defence system.
- Zelensky met Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten in Kyiv on Sunday, where the two discussed joint arms production and expanding defence cooperation.
- During the talks, Zelensky also called for stronger sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, saying Moscow’s war effort depends heavily on revenue from oil exports.
- A Russian ballistic missile struck a five-storey residential building in Kharkiv overnight on Saturday, killing 11 people, including two children, and injuring at least 15 others, according to local authorities.
- Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the victims included a teacher and her nine-year-old son, as well as a 13-year-old girl and her mother. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said two boys aged six and 11 and a 17-year-old girl were among the injured.
- Airline stocks in Asia fell on Monday as surging oil prices and the escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran added pressure on carriers already dealing with restricted airspace as travellers avoid routes through the Middle East.
- The conflict has pushed fuel costs higher, with oil prices jumping about 20% in early Monday trading to their highest levels since July 2022 amid fears of tighter supply and prolonged disruption to global shipments.
Zelensky says war leaves Ukrainian children living under constant threat
Monday 9 March 2026 06:30 , Shweta SharmaTrump downplays importance of Russia reportedly sharing intel with Iran to help it hit US targets
Monday 9 March 2026 06:04 , Shweta SharmaPresident Donald Trump said that it was inconsequential if Russia has provided Iran with information to help Tehran target US military personnel and assets in the Middle East as the week-old war rages.
The president dismissed the import of such information-sharing after he attended the dignified transfer for six Army reservists who were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait the day after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran that has unsettled the global economy.
Trump stopped short of confirming reports by The Associated Press and other news outlets that U.S. intelligence officials believe Russia has provided Iran with such targeting information.
But if Moscow is passing on such details, he said Iran was getting little out of it."If you take a look at what's happened to Iran in the last week, if they're getting information, it's not helping them much," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew to Miami, where he's spending the rest of the weekend.
The president also waved off a question about how Russia assisting Iran in such a way might affect his view of the US-Russia relationship.
"They'd say we do it against them," Trump responded. "Wouldn't they say that we do it against them?
"Ukraine, in the four years since it was invaded by Russia, has received US intelligence to help defend against incoming missiles from Russia as well as to help Kyiv hit certain Russian targets.
Russia loses 930 troops in a day, Ukraine says
Monday 9 March 2026 05:40 , Shweta SharmaRussia has lost 1,273,290 troops since the start of the full scale invasion in 2022, according to Ukraine’s armed forces.
The number includes 930 casualties suffered over the past day.
The figures, reported early Sunday, are broadly supported by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, which assessed 1.2m casualties since Feb 2022 earlier this year.
That figure included killed, missing and wounded.
Exclusive: Zelensky says Trump using up all his missiles on Iran risks leaving Ukraine short against Putin
Monday 9 March 2026 05:24 , Shweta SharmaThe US war with Iran risks leaving Ukraine vulnerable to Vladimir Putin’s forces, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned, as Donald Trump turns his firepower on the Middle Eastern country.
In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with The Independent, the Ukrainian president shared his concerns about the impact of the growing conflict with Iran on his country’s efforts to defend itself against Russia.
Ukraine could now face a shortage of air defence missiles to protect its cities from attacks, he said, as the US and its allies use hundreds to defend against Iran’s waves of drones and rockets.
“The focus will shift to the Middle East, to the Iranian war, now, and to the United States and also to Israel,” Zelensky told the World of Trouble podcast. “This is very understandable. And to the countries in the Middle East, who are now under attacks, massive attacks of drones and missiles from the Iranian side.
Read Sam Kiley’s interview with Zelensky.
Zelensky: Trump using up all his missiles on Iran risks leaving Ukraine short
Putin accuses West of 'systemic mistake' over Ukraine
Monday 9 March 2026 05:14 , Shweta SharmaVladimir Putin said the crisis in Ukraine stemmed from Western support for the 2014 change of power in Kyiv, accusing Western countries of making a “systemic mistake”.
Speaking to journalist Pavel Zarubin on Russia’s Vesti programme, the Russian president said the conflict began after Western backing for the political upheaval in Kyiv, followed by developments in Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
"One could say that everything happening now [in Ukraine] is undoubtedly a mistake, first and foremost by Western countries. A systemic mistake," he added, according to Tass news agency.
Putin also accused Ukraine’s leadership of manipulating European countries, describing the situation as “the tail wagging the dog”.
"The situation is very strange. Because I get the impression that we are dealing with a case that is called ‘the tail wagging the dog,’ rather than the other way around," he said.
He added that Western nations were now “reaping what they sowed” through their policies towards Ukraine, and warned that tensions had pushed the situation on global energy markets to the limit.
ICYMI: 11 killed in Kharkiv apartment missile strike
Monday 9 March 2026 04:57 , Shweta SharmaRescue operations were still ongoing yesterday after at least 11 people died in a missile strike on a five-story building in the city of Kharkiv on Saturday.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the victims included a teacher and her nine-year-old son, as well as a 13-year-old girl and her mother.
Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said two boys aged six and 11 and a 17-year-old girl were among the injured. Officials said on Sunday that another 11 people were believed to be trapped under the rubble.
Russia launched 480 drones and 29 missiles across Ukraine overnight, including Shahed drones, Zircon hypersonic missiles and Iskander‑M ballistic missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. Ukrainian forces said they shot down 453 drones and 19 missiles.
"There must be a response from partners to these savage strikes against life," president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Russia has not abandoned its attempts to destroy Ukraine’s residential and critical infrastructure, and therefore support must continue."
ICYMI: Russian drone strikes passenger train
Monday 9 March 2026 04:19 , Shweta SharmaA Russian drone struck a passenger train in northeastern Sumy Oblast early on Sunday, according to Ukrainian media reports.
The attack occurred at around 5.30am local time and hit a train carrying about 200 passengers, local prosecutors told the outlet Suspilne. Authorities said no injuries were reported, and passengers were later redirected to their final destinations.
Ukraine’s state rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said the strike was part of a broader overnight drone campaign targeting railway infrastructure across the country, with additional damage reported in Rivne Oblast, Zhytomyr Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast.
The drone was preliminarily identified as a Lancet drone, a strike drone widely used by Russia.
Ukrainian drone specialists travelling to Middle East, Zelensky says
Monday 9 March 2026 03:33 , Shweta SharmaVolodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukrainian drone specialists would travel to the Middle East “next week”, as Kyiv seeks additional US air defence missiles in exchange for its battlefield expertise in countering drones.
Ukraine is facing a shortage of the costly PAC-3 air defence missiles supplied by the United States, and officials fear that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could further disrupt supplies.
Asked how Kyiv intended to help the US and its Gulf allies counter drone attacks, Zelensky said it was too early to provide details.
“It is too early to say anything else at this stage,” he said, adding: “I think that next week, when the experts are on site, they will assess the situation and help.”
