(BRUSSELS) – Hungary and Slovakia blocked discussion of a proposed €90 billion loan for Ukraine, equivalent to approximately $98 billion, during the first day of a European Union summit in Brussels, highlighting divisions within the bloc over continued financial support for Kyiv.
At the same time, Russian forces intensified strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, prompting authorities to reintroduce hourly power outage schedules in several regions as the grid came under sustained pressure.
Regional officials reported further damage following Russian attacks across multiple areas of Ukraine, though detailed casualty figures were not immediately released.
In Sloviansk, Donetsk region, an unidentified man shot and killed a police captain during a document inspection. Law enforcement agencies have launched a search operation for the suspect.
Ukraine’s High Anti Corruption Court sentenced Member of Parliament Liudmyla Marchenko of the Servant of the People party and her aide Anastasiia Kolesnik to two years in prison in a corruption case, marking a rare conviction of a sitting lawmaker.
In the Middle East, Iran carried out a missile strike on Israel’s largest oil refinery in Haifa, escalating regional tensions.
A global happiness ranking published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford placed Ukraine 111th, reflecting the ongoing impact of war on living conditions.
Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko marked her 96th birthday, with publisher A BA BA HA LA MA HA announcing the forthcoming release of her new book, “Wind from Mars”.
Weather conditions in the Carpathian Mountains deteriorated, with fresh snowfall reported. Ukraine’s Hydrometeorological Centre said colder than expected conditions would persist before temperatures rise to more typical spring levels.
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