U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Budapest on April 7, a move seen as an endorsement for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban days before the parliamentary elections.

"It's been 35 years since this last happened in Budapest: a U.S. vice president has arrived in Hungary," said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who welcomed Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance upon their arrival.

Hungary's chief diplomat said the trip demonstrates a "new golden age" in U.S.-Hungarian relations.

Vance's visit comes after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Orban, Hungary's populist leader, whose Fidesz party trails behind Peter Magyar's Tisza party ahead of the April 12 vote.

The U.S. vice president's two-day visit is said to include talks with Hungarian leaders on economic and energy cooperation, migration, and global security. Vance is also expected to attend a rally together with Orban.

During the visit, Hungary's energy company Mol is set to sign a deal to buy $500 million worth of U.S. oil, Bloomberg reported, citing an undisclosed source.

Energy security has become a key theme in Orban's election campaign, as the leader called for lifting EU sanctions on Russian fossil fuels and accused Kyiv of threatening Hungary's security by withholding oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline.

Magyar, Orban's rival, commented on Vance's visit by saying, "No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections."

"Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels — it is written in Hungary's streets and squares," the opposition politician said on X.

Trump and Orban have been ideological allies, sharing views on migration, cultural issues, and the EU.

The Hungarian leader has also often invoked Trump's push to broker a swift ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine as an argument against EU military support for Kyiv.

Orban currently blocks the EU's 20th package of sanctions against Russia and a 90-billion-euro ($104 billion) loan for Kyiv over the Druzhba dispute.

Slovakia and Hungary, two EU countries still buying Russian crude through Druzhba, accused Ukraine of deliberately blocking transit. Kyiv said that a Druzhba-linked facility was damaged in a Russian attack in western Ukraine in January.

Read also: Unmasking the anonymous hosts of ‘Russians with Attitude,’ a pro-war podcast popular with US far-right

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Iran has accused Ukraine of being complicit in military aggression due to the deployment of counter-drone specialists to Gulf countries, according to a letter sent by Tehran's UN representative to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council.

The letter claimed that Ukraine’s actions amount to direct involvement in the conflict and argued that Kyiv bears legal responsibility under international law.

“Ukraine's acknowledgement that it has sent hundreds of experts to the region to counter Iran effectively constitutes evidence of material and operational support for military aggression,” Iranian UN Ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani wrote.

He added that “Ukraine bears international responsibility arising from aiding or assisting another party in committing unlawful acts,” and said Ukraine’s role was not incidental but a form of active facilitation.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations, calling them false and pointing to Iran’s role in supplying drones to Russia that have been used in attacks against Ukrainian cities since 2022.

Ukrainian officials say tens of thousands of Iranian-designed Shahed drones have been launched at Ukraine during the full-scale war.

“Almost 60,000 drones shared by Iran with Russia have struck Ukraine since 2022," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said. "Not a single Ukrainian drone has ever hit Iran.”

These relatively cheap, long-range drones, sometimes described as "kamikaze drones," are programmed to fly directly toward a target and detonate upon impact.

Russia now domestically produces its own Shahed drones, which it calls Geran, and while Moscow has made several improvements and modifications, the basic silhouettes are identical.

Interest in Ukraine’s drone defense expertise has spread across the Middle East, with several countries, including Qatar, sending officials and military representatives to tour Ukrainian facilities and learn from Kyiv’s wartime innovations.

Read also: Russia’s drone machine grew while the West watched

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Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, former commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, and Kyrylo Budanov, head of the President's Office, have the highest approval ratings among Ukrainian politicians, according to a survey published by the polling agency Socis on March 26.

The poll was conducted from March 12 to March 18.

Zaluzhnyi, who is also Ukraine's ambassador to the U.K., Budanov, and President Volodymyr Zelensky have approval ratings of 61.6%, 60.3%, and 46.3%, respectively.

The disapproval ratings of Zaluznyi, Budanov, and Zelensky amounted to 31.1%, 29%, and 49.1%, respectively.

Pro-Russian lawmaker Yuriy Boyko and ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, head of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party, have the lowest approval ratings — 5.8% and 7.9%, respectively — and the highest disapproval ratings — 80% and 86.6%, respectively.

Meanwhile, 76.7% disapprove of ex-President Petro Poroshenko, and 18.8% approve of him.

Zaluzhnyi's hypothetical party would be backed by 21% of those who have decided to vote in a future parliamentary election and have made their choice.

Budanov's party — if he creates one — would get 15.3%, the hypothetical party of Mykolayiv Oblast Governor Vitaliy Kim, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov and lawmaker Danylo Hetmantsev would get 13.7%, and 11.5% would vote for Zelensky's Servant of the People.

Zaluzhnyi, Budanov, Kim, Terekhov, and Hetmantsev have not yet created their own parties.

In a presidential election, 29.3% of those who have decided to vote and have made their choice would vote for Zelensky in the first round, 25% would support Zaluzhnyi, and Budanov would get 13.7%.

The poll did not have any figures for a run-off. According to several previous Socis polls, both Zaluzhnyi and Budanov would beat Zelensky in the second round.

Read also: Zelensky picks Military Intelligence Head Budanov as his new chief of staff

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Editor's note: The story is being updated.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said he and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner would travel to Moscow on Jan. 22 for a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

"The Russians have invited us to come, and that's a significant statement from them," Witkoff said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Davos on Jan. 21.

The U.S. envoy said that Trump remains "focused on that peace deal" and said "even more significant improvement" has been made toward a settlement.

"I think everybody is embedded in the process and wants to see a peace deal happen," he added.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed plans for a meeting between Putin and Witkoff on Jan. 22, state news agency TASS reported.

The Kremlin previously said it was ready to host Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow to continue discussions on peace efforts in Ukraine, though no date has been set until now.

Talking to CNBC, Witkoff also noted he thinks Russia will join Trump's Board of Peace, a new body designed to oversee Gaza and possibly other conflict regions.

Dozens of countries, including Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, have been invited to join the body. Few governments have confirmed interest, and both Moscow and Kyiv said they are still reviewing the proposal.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sept. 21 that he would help defend Poland and the Baltic nations if Russia continues to escalate.

When reporters asked whether the United States would back its allies in such a case, he replied, "Yeah, I would. I would."

The comments come after a drone attack on the night of Sept. 10 when roughly 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, some intercepted by NATO aircraft for the first time.

Ten days later, on Sept. 19, three Russian MiG-31 fighters briefly entered Estonian airspace and remained there for about 12 minutes.

"We don't like it," Trump said, referring to the recent occurrence in Estonia.

In response to this development, Estonia has invoked NATO's Article 4, requesting consultations with allies regarding the escalated security threat.

Read also: Russia denies violating Estonian airspace with MiG-31 fighter jets

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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sept. 3 that he initially thought ending Russia's war against Ukraine would be straightforward, but acknowledged it has proven more difficult than he expected.

The president's comments come as his peace efforts enter their eighth month without results.

"Frankly, the Russia one, I thought, would have been on the easier side of the ones I've stopped, but it seems to be something that's a little bit more difficult than some of the others," Trump told CBS News.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has positioned himself as a global peacemaker, claiming he ended seven conflicts, though he did not provide evidence or specify which wars he was referring to.

His approach, he said, is to bring leaders together in one room and push them toward an agreement, though he conceded that negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow require patience.

Following his Aug. 15 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump said he was preparing a direct meeting between Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Kremlin has denied that any such deal was reached.

The Ukrainian president has repeatedly expressed willingness to meet with Putin directly, urging the U.S. to impose tougher measures if Russia continues to avoid such talks.

Putin told reporters on Sept.3 that he has never ruled out meeting with Zelensky and suggested it could happen if properly prepared. He said if Zelensky is ready, he could come to Moscow.

Trump has yet to impose sanctions on Russia for refusing to end the war, despite earlier threats of "severe" secondary tariffs. His administration has paused military aid to Ukraine multiple times and so far imposed only a 25% tariff on India over oil purchases from Moscow.

An Aug. 8 deadline Trump set for Russia to agree to a ceasefire passed without consequences.

Zelensky, who traveled to Paris on Sept. 3 for a meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing," said he would soon speak with Trump about increasing sanctions pressure on Moscow.

Read also: Behind Ukraine’s manpower crisis lies a bleak new battlefield reality for infantry

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Russian President Vladimir Putin remains determined to continue the war against Ukraine until the West agrees to peace on his terms, Reuters reported on July 15, citing three sources close to the Kremlin.

Russia continues insisting on its terms, despite recent threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose 100% "secondary tariffs" on Moscow unless it agrees to a peace deal within 50 days.

According to Reuters, Putin sees no reason to back down. Instead, the undisclosed sources say the Russian leader is confident that Russia's military and economy can withstand additional Western pressure, including sanctions and tariffs, and is even prepared to expand Moscow’s territorial ambitions as Russian forces continue to advance.

According to a source cited by Reuters, Putin believes that the U.S. and others have not seriously addressed his demands regarding Ukraine.

Trump on July 14 expressed frustration over Putin's refusal to agree to a ceasefire and announced a new wave of U.S. weapons supplies to Ukraine, including Patriot missile systems, paid for by NATO and European allies.

Read also: ‘How would that even work?’ — experts pour scorn on Trump’s ‘severe’ Russian tariffs plan

Despite recent phone conversations between Trump and Putin, and visits to Moscow by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, the Kremlin reportedly believes the dialogue has lacked substance.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly responded to Reuters' article by blaming former U.S. President Joe Biden for the war.

"Unlike Biden, President Trump is focused on stopping the killing, and Putin will be faced with biting sanctions and tariffs if he does not agree to a ceasefire," Kelly said.

According to Reuters, Putin's conditions for peace remain firm. They include a binding pledge that NATO will not expand further east, Ukrainian neutrality, limits on its military, recognition of Russia's territorial gains in Ukraine, and "protection" for Russian-speaking populations

Moscow has falsely claimed that Ukraine is repressing its Russian-speaking population. While Ukraine's post-EuroMaidan Revolution reforms sought to prioritize the Ukrainian language in the public sphere after decades of Russification, the Russian language remains widely and freely spoken.

The sources also said Putin is open to discussing international security guarantees for Ukraine, though how that would function remains unclear.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently rejected any settlement that legitimizes Russia's occupation. Kyiv insists it retains sovereign rights over its territory and its future, including the pursuit of NATO membership.

Ukraine has called for a full, unconditional ceasefire before talking about any peace settlement.

"A full unconditional ceasefire opens the possibility to discuss everything," Zelensky told journalists in April.

Two Russian sources told Reuters that Moscow believes it currently holds the advantage on the battlefield and in defense production. They claimed Russia's war economy is now outpacing the U.S.-led NATO alliance in key areas such as artillery shell manufacturing.

A second Kremlin-linked source echoed that economic losses from Western pressure are seen as secondary to Moscow's broader strategic objectives, and that Putin is not concerned by Washington's threats to sanction nations such as China and India that continue purchasing Russian oil.

Read also: Patriot missiles — what they are and why everyone wants them

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