{"id":547982,"date":"2026-04-24T09:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/547982\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T09:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:08:14","slug":"ukraine-russia-war-latest-kyiv-says-it-killed-12-fsb-officers-in-drone-swarm-attack-on-russian-command-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/547982\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv says it killed 12 FSB officers in drone swarm attack on Russian command centre"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Zelensky says Ukraine does not need ‘symbolic’ partial EU membership<\/p>\n

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the idea of a partial EU membership for his war-hit nation.<\/p>\n

Germany and France have proposed limited \u201dsymbolic\u201d or \u201dassociate\u201d EU membership for Ukraine as part of a peace deal, which would grant some benefits but exclude voting rights or full access to shared budgets.<\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine does not need symbolic membership in the EU,\u201d Zelensky said, speaking to reporters on his presidential WhatsApp chat on the way to Cyprus.<\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine is defending itself and is definitely defending Europe. And it is not defending Europe symbolically \u2013 people are really dying,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Zelensky added that Ukraine is defending “shared European values” and therefore saying the country deserves full membership in the 27-strong bloc of countries.<\/p>\n

\"Ukraine'sUkraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the EU Summit in Ayia Napa, Cyprus (AP)<\/p>\n

Arpan Rai24 April 2026 10:05<\/p>\n

<\/a>Zelensky rules out territory swap with Putin: ‘Try to withdraw from your own house’<\/p>\n

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated his administration\u2019s stand on territorial concessions to Russia as part of any peace deal.<\/p>\n

Zelensky said the land in question has history and shared values for millions of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never speak about Ukrainian territories just like about territories. It is not only land. It is our history, families, roots, children and houses,\u201d he said, speaking to reporters outside the summit venue in Cyprus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen somebody says Ukraine should withdraw, please try to withdraw from your own house,\u201d Zelensky added.<\/p>\n

Arpan Rai24 April 2026 09:45<\/p>\n

<\/a>Ukraine says it killed 12 FSB officers in an attack on command post<\/p>\n

Ukraine’s drone wing says it has killed at least 12 officers and injured 15 others in a strike on a command post of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Donetsk region on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi confirmed the attack yesterday and said Ukrainian forces used FP-2 drones manufactured by the Ukrainian defence company Fire Point.<\/p>\n

The drones can carry up to 100kg payloads and are used for medium-range strikes.<\/p>\n

The operation, during which operators carried out “eight precision strikes on the target,” was conducted by the Unmanned Systems Forces together with fighters from the 1st Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Azov Brigade, the statement from Brovdi read.<\/p>\n

He said the command post hit in the attack is responsible for sabotage operations, building intelligence networks, recruitment, carrying out terrorist attacks and arson, and coordinating Russian proxy forces.<\/p>\n

\"SoldiersSoldiers demonstrate how the Tencore Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) TerMIT is used for evacuation procedures (Getty)<\/p>\n

Arpan Rai24 April 2026 09:30<\/p>\n

<\/a>EU finally approves \u20ac90bn Ukraine loan \u2013 how will it aid the fight against Russia?<\/p>\n

The loan is set to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s<\/a> needs for the next two years. Economists had warned Ukraine would run out of money by June without the EU loan, necessitating deep cuts to public services.<\/p>\n

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen<\/a> stated: “While Russia doubles down on its aggression, we are doubling down on our support to the brave Ukrainian nation enabling Ukraine to defend itself and putting pressure on Russia\u2019s war economy.” The move underscores the EU’s continued commitment to Kyiv.<\/p>\n

Arpan Rai24 April 2026 09:11<\/p>\n

<\/a>Prince Harry, on visit to Kyiv, tells Putin to ‘stop this war’<\/p>\n

Prince Harry made an unannounced visit to Kyiv and called on Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to end the war \u2013 a week after a massive Russian aerial attack on the country \u2013 and on \u2060US president Donald Trump to show leadership to help resolve the conflict.<\/p>\n

By convention, the British royal family do not speak out on political matters, although King Charles and other senior royals have regularly voiced their support for Ukraine.<\/p>\n

But Harry, on his third visit \u2060to the country since the war \u200bbegan, \u2060used far more explicit language than any of his relatives have done previously.<\/p>\n

“President Putin, no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we \u2060are witnessing. There is still a moment \u2013 now \u2013 to stop this war, to \u200bprevent \u2060further suffering for Ukrainians and Russians \u200calike, and to choose a different course,” Harry said in a speech to a Kyiv security forum.<\/p>\n

He called on Washington to do more to \u200cbring about an end to the war.<\/p>\n

“This is a \u200cmoment for American leadership, a moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Europe has stood up in profound ways,” said the British Army veteran \u2060who served in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

“The task now is to match endurance with speed, solidarity with scale, and commitment with consistency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"PrincePrince Harry shakes hands with Kyiv Security Forum Chair Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the start of the forum in Kyiv (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Arpan Rai24 April 2026 09:10<\/p>\n

<\/a>Russian diplomats say new EU sanctions are ‘economic blackmail’<\/p>\n

Russian diplomats have denounced the latest European Union sanctions imposed on Moscow in connection with its invasion of Ukraine, saying the new measures \u2060lacked UN legitimacy and infringed the rights of third countries.<\/p>\n

Russian news agencies quoted a statement by diplomats at Russia’s mission to the European \u2060Union as saying \u200bthe \u2060measures were meaningless without a decision from the UN Security Council.<\/p>\n

“We would like \u2060to remind you that only sanctions imposed \u200bby the \u2060decision of the \u200cUN Security Council are legitimate,” state news agency TASS quoted the statement as saying.<\/p>\n

“All \u200cothers are unilateral coercive measures, \u200cand essentially \u2014 arbitrariness and aggression that contradict international law and the UN Charter.”<\/p>\n

RIA news agency said the \u2060statement accused the EU of restricting exports of specific goods to a number of countries cooperating with Russia and said this was “resorting to economic blackmail and extraterritorial application of sanctions”.<\/p>\n

The EU adopted its 20th package of \u200csanctions against Russia over its war \u200bin Ukraine after Slovakia and Hungary \u200cdropped their opposition to \u2060the move following the resumption of \u2060flows through the Druzhba oil pipeline.<\/p>\n

The EU had initially \u200caimed to \u200badopt the package \u200cto mark the fourth anniversary \u200bof Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.<\/p>\n

\"RussianRussian president Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Arpan Rai24 April 2026 08:49<\/p>\n

<\/a>Watch | ‘How’s his wife?’: Trump slams Prince Harry after Duke of Sussex\u2019s plea to support Ukraine’How’s his wife?’: Trump slams Prince Harry after Duke of Sussex\u2019s plea to support Ukraine<\/p>\n

Arpan Rai24 April 2026 08:34<\/p>\n

<\/a>Ukraine says it is in \u2018strongest frontline position in a year\u2019 as Russian advance grinds to a halt<\/p>\n

Andrii Sybiha credited the progress to Kyiv<\/a>\u2019s superiority in drone warfare <\/a>and air defence, which he claimed had the ability to shoot down up to 90 per cent of attacks.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cFor us, the situation on the battlefield is about strengthening our negotiating position. We can shoot down up to 90 per cent of the targets that strike our cities\u2026 [Ukraine\u2019s] position on the battlefield is indeed the strongest, or the most solid, it has been over the past year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Agence France-Presse analysed data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and found that Russia had made almost no territorial gains across the frontline in March. It marks the country\u2019s worst progress in two and a half years.<\/p>\n

Arpan Rai24 April 2026 08:14<\/p>\n

<\/a>Russia says it foils a plot to bomb telecoms watchdog leaders<\/p>\n

Russia’s \u200bFederal Security Service (FSB) said that it had foiled \u2060a plot to bomb senior officials at the country’s telecoms watchdog, the Interfax \u2060news agency reported this morning.<\/p>\n

The \u200bFSB \u2060said the leader of the \u2060plotters was shot dead \u200bwhile resisting \u2060arrest.<\/p>\n

A \u200ctotal of seven people were detained, the FSB said. \u200cThe FSB said \u200csearches had found links to Ukrainian paramilitary units \u2060during searches.<\/p>\n

“On 18 April 2026, a terrorist attack against Roskomnadzor officials, planned by detonating a vehicle using an explosive device, \u200cwas foiled,” the \u200bFSB was quoted \u200cas saying. <\/p>\n

Arpan Rai24 April 2026 07:57<\/p>\n

<\/a>EU has started push for 21st package of sanctions against Russia, Kallas says<\/p>\n

The \u200bEuropean Union has started pushing for a 21st package of sanctions \u2060against Russia, the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said this morning, one \u2060day after the \u200bEU adopted \u2060the 20th sanctions package against Russia \u2060over Moscow’s war on \u200bUkraine.<\/p>\n

“We’re \u2060really pushing to \u200cgo on with the 21st package of sanctions,” \u200cKallas told reporters \u200cahead of an informal summit of EU leaders in \u2060Cyprus.<\/p>\n

“It sends a very clear signal to Russia that they can’t outwait us. It also sends a clear signal to Russia \u200cthat Ukraine is more \u200bimportant to \u200cus than it \u2060is to them, and \u2060we will keep on supporting \u200cthem.”<\/p>\n

Arpan Rai24 April 2026 07:51<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zelensky says Ukraine does not need ‘symbolic’ partial EU membership Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the idea…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[188701,49,50,51,47,52,48,160],"class_list":["post-547982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-aptopix-cyprus-eu-summit","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-volodymyr-zelenskyy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}