Ukraine-Russia war latest: Cash-strapped Putin ‘calls on oligarchs to prop up Russian economy’
Russia is using alcoholics from rehab and deploying them to front lineRussian officials are now relying on patients recovering from alcohol addiction and sending them to fight Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine.A Russian serviceman confirmed a stream of new arrivals in his unit that included several Russians older in age, physically unfit and struggling with alcohol dependency, reported The Telegraph.“I saw it myself – from Petrozavodsk, from Karelia, they recruited these f***ing guys from rehab, f***ing drunks,” he said, speaking to the newspaper.He added that these men were first rounded up at a facility in Petrozavodsk near the border with Finland. The soldier said they were detained by “black recruiters” who held them in their custody by confiscating their bank accounts and draining their accounts of money.Ukrainian officials have previously pointed out Moscow’s strategy of relying on vulnerable and weak recruits to prolong its war and secure gains on the frontline.A patient receives a detox solution infusion via intravenous drip at a private addiction clinic in Moscow (AFP via Getty Images)Arpan Rai27 March 2026 09:00Russia and Ukraine both say they capture frontline villagesRussia's defence ministry said its forces had taken control of a new village in its slow advance through eastern Ukraine, naming it as Sheviakivka in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.Ukraine's military made no acknowledgement that the village on the Russian border had changed hands.A Ukrainian paratroop unit said it had retaken a village to the south in Dnipropetrovsk region that had earlier fallen under Russian control.Ukraine will aim to repel a widely anticipated new Russian springtime offensive along the frontline amid a breakdown in US-backed peace talks by building on recent tactical successes.The campaign focuses on the "Fortress Belt" of heavily defended cities in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.The Russian defence ministry report gave few details on the capture of Sheviakivka, but senior Russian military officials have said Moscow intends to build up buffer zones in both Kharkiv and Sumy regions on its border.Ukraine's Command of Paratroop Assault Forces, writing on Facebook, said the 95th Separate Assault Brigade had taken control of the village of Berezove, just inside Dnipropetrovsk region.“Step by step paratroops are pushing Russian forces out of Ukrainian lands," the statement said.Zelensky and other officials have said Ukrainian forces have made advances in southern areas of the 1,250km (775-mile) frontline in recent weeks.(AFP/Getty)Arpan Rai27 March 2026 08:30Saudi crown prince meets Zelensky in JeddahSaudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Jeddah yesterday and discussed the regional escalation and the Ukrainian crisis, the Saudi state news agency said.No further details were provided. Earlier this month, Zelensky said he had spoken with the Saudi crown prince and restated Kyiv's offer to help deal with Iranian drones.Arpan Rai27 March 2026 08:00Europeans to press US over Russian support for IranEuropean powers have accused Russia of helping Iran target US forces in the Middle East war and said they would raise the issue with US secretary of state Marco Rubio at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in France.Rubio is joining the second day of the gathering of ministers of leading Western democracies, taking place amid wars in Iran and Ukraine, economic uncertainty and mounting unease over unpredictable US foreign policy under Donald Trump.Two Western security sources and a regional official close to Tehran told Reuters that Russia has been providing satellite imagery to Iran and also helped Iran upgrade its drones to emulate the equivalent versions used by Russia against Ukraine.Other media outlets have also reported that Russia is aiding Iran in the conflict with the United States and Israel, just as Tehran has helped Moscow in its war against Ukraine."We are raising this issue that we see that Russia is helping Iran with intelligence to target Americans, to kill Americans," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters at the G7 meeting in Vaux-de-Cernay abbey near Paris."Russia is also supporting Iran now with the drones so that they can attack neighbouring countries and also the US military bases," she said.Arpan Rai27 March 2026 07:30Watch: Trump says US could divert weapons from Kyiv to Middle EastTrump says US could divert weapons from Kyiv to Middle EastArpan Rai27 March 2026 07:00What is Russia’s shadow fleet and how is it helping Putin wage war in Ukraine?The prime minister said he approved more aggressive action as Russian president Vladimir Putin was likely "rubbing his hands" at the spike in oil prices driven by the US-Israel war against Iran.British military and law enforcement officials have been preparing to board Russian vessels that do not surrender, are armed, or use high-tech, pervasive surveillance to evade capture.The Independent answers what the shadow fleet is and how it helps Putin in Ukraine:Arpan Rai27 March 2026 06:55Russia bans Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin for promoting ‘negative attitudes’A Russian court banned the distribution of Mr Nobody Against Putin after authorities claimed the Oscar-winning documentary promoted “negative attitudes” about the government and the war in Ukraine.Mr Nobody Against Putin premiered in January 2025 at the Sundance Film Festival where it received a special jury award.Talankin gave the footage to Borenstein, an American filmmaker living in Denmark, in 2024.Arpan Rai27 March 2026 06:30Putin pledges donation of 100bn rouble to sustain war effortsRussia's president Vladimir Putin has asked oligarchs to donate to the country's budget in a bid to stabilise the country's finances as he presses on with his invasion of Ukraine, reported The Bell online media outlet, citing unnamed sources.It said Putin met top Russia's businessmen behind closed doors on Thursday.The Financial Times also published a similar report on Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter. The Bell, citing the sources, said Putin discussed military funding and continuation of the war, which is in its fifth year since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.Russia will fight on, Putin said, until it captures the remaining areas of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region not under its control, the report added.The Bell also said billionaire Suleiman Kerimov at the meeting with Putin pledged to donate 100bn roubles ($1.23bn).As the war in Ukraine drags on, Russia is facing a double whammy of falling budget revenues from energy sales and of an economic slowdown, which affects tax income from other sectors of the economy.Sources told Reuters earlier this month that the Russian government has been preparing a possible 10 per cent cut to all "non-sensitive" spending in this year's budget, but the final decision will hinge on the sustainability of the oil price rise triggered by the Iran war.Russian president Vladimir Putin attends the Congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow (AFP via Getty Images)Arpan Rai27 March 2026 06:20Canada announces additional sanctions against RussiaCanada has announced addition sanctions against Russia, adding 100 more vessels from Russia's shadowfleet to its sanctions list, Global Affairs Canada said in a statement yesterday.Just hours earlier, prime minister Keir Starmer said he had authorised the military to board and detain Russian ships in British waters to disrupt a network of vessels that his government says enables Moscow to export oil despite Western sanctions.Arpan Rai27 March 2026 06:00Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, banned from Olympics, speaks at United NationsVladyslav Heraskevych was shunned by the Olympics, then invited to the United Nations.He never expected that would happen.The Ukrainian skeleton athlete was not allowed to compete at the Milan Cortina Games because of his plan to wear a helmet paying tribute to some of those killed following Russia's invasion of his country.He spoke on a panel at the UN on Thursday detailing why he still believes he made the right decision.“I think it’s important that we use this stage and talk about important things," Heraskevych said at the opening ceremony of Change the World Model United Nations, an educational simulation for thousands of students.“Sometimes it feels like, in all these hours of training, we really forgot about the overall mission of sports. It is not only about the medals, but it’s also about values that we represent.”Arpan Rai27 March 2026 05:40
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