Russia ‘does not deserve’ lifting of sanctions, Zelenskyy says, after deadly overnight strikes in Ukraine – as it happened

… and that’s all for today.

• Russia has carried out its deadliest attack against Ukraine this year, killing at least 17 people, and injuring more than 100, in a wave of drone and missile strikes across the country (10:06, 10:53, 11:08, 11:46, 16:34).

• Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautioned against any relaxation of sanctions on Russia saying it “does not deserve” any such move given its continuing attacks on Ukraine.

• The European Commission agreed with his comments, saying that “giving any relief in terms of sanctions … vis a vis Russia is not helpful in maintaining the pressure” on Moscow to end its aggression against Ukraine.

In other news,

• The European Commission has confirmed that it will hold first early talks with the incoming Hungarian government of Péter Magyar on Friday as it hopes for a constructive relationship after years of clashes with Viktor Orbán (14:16).

• The news comes as it emerged that Orbán will skip his final EU summit as he readies to hand over power after losing power in last Sunday’s parliamentary election (13:30).

If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.

I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.

in Kyiv

Russia has carried out its deadliest attack against Ukraine this year, killing at least 17 people, and injuring more than 100, in a wave of drone and missile strikes across the country.

Nine people died in the southern port city of Odesa, with four killed in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old boy. There were three fatalities in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Another person died in Zaporizhzhia oblast.

An air raid alarm sounded in the capital at about 2.30am on Thursday. Explosions could be heard soon afterwards, as well as loud booms from Ukrainian air defences. According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles.

Mykhailo Barvinko, a 27-year-old PhD student, told the Guardian: “I heard the air-raid alarm and was about to go down to the bomb shelter when my windows blew in. There was a flash and two seconds later an enormous blast wave.”

Barvinko was unhurt but his third-floor apartment in Kyiv’s Podilskyi district was damaged. “I don’t understand Russia’s motive. We are civilians. It’s really surreal. We had nothing against them. One day Russia decides it has to kill and destroy us,” he said.

in Rome

Six months ago, Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, stood surrounded by men on a stage in Sharm el-Sheikh, where world leaders had gathered to discuss the Gaza peace deal.

In front of her, Donald Trump showered praise and insults on the assembled leaders, before describing Meloni as a “beautiful young woman”. Turning towards her, he added: “You don’t mind being called beautiful, right? Because you are. Thank you very much for coming.”

Meloni looked uncomfortable, but accepted the compliment. She had worked hard to establish herself as a solid European ally for Trump, paying a flying visit to his Mar-a-Lago country club in Florida and being the only European leader to attend his inauguration as US president.

That relationship, rooted in shared nationalistic rhetoric, is now unravelling as quickly as it formed. In an interview this week, Trump turned on her, telling the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Tuesday that she “lacked courage” for failing to join the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The rebuke came after Meloni described Trump’s attack on Pope Leo – who has emerged as a vocal critic of the Iran war – as “unacceptable”.

“She is the one who is unacceptable,” Trump snapped, “because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if it had the chance.”

The remarks rounded off a challenging month for Meloni, whose government suffered a bruising setback in a referendum on a judicial overhaul in March and whose cosy relations with Trump have been an increasing political liability in a country with a deeply rooted anti-war culture.

Meanwhile, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, met with Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte discussing the alliance’s upcoming summit in Ankara in July and ramping up defence production in Europe.

“We need to invest more, to produce more and to do both faster. With the rise in global security threats, we agreed to work closely together in the next weeks to strengthen the EU-Nato relationship and prepare a successful summit in Ankara,” she said.

Speaking alongside Merz, Ireland’s Martin set out his country’s priorities for the upcoming six-month presidency of the EU, starting in July.

He said Dublin wants to focus on improving the EU’s competitiveness, standing up for the bloc’s values, and ensuring its security.

“Without a strong and competitive economy, Europe will not be able to improve the living standards of our citizens and to protect our people from external threats,” he said.

On security, Martin stressed the importance of “continuing support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s … illegal war,” as well as responding to and managing the consequences of the conflict in the Middle East.

“The consequences for the people in the region and for the wider world are very serious and far ranging, and there is an urgent need to bring hostilities to an end,” he said.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Irish prime minister Micheál Martin are now speaking at a press conference after their meeting in Berlin.

Let’s listen in.

Back to Ukraine, and the overnight Russian attacks on the country, we can now bring you a bit more on this with these interviews with local residents affected by the strikes.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has confirmed that it will hold first early talks with the incoming Hungarian government of Péter Magyar on Friday as it hopes for a constructive relationship after years of clashes with Viktor Orbán.

The meeting in Budapest comes just days after Magyar’s historic win ending Orbán’s 16 years in power.

“The clock is ticking for a number of topics,” EU spokesperson Paula Pinho said Thursday.

“These are preliminary talks that are taking place in order to make sure that once the government is in place, really, action can be taken if appropriate, and that we do not waste any time.”

As my colleague Jennifer Rankin explained the other day, one of the most urgent questions now for the EU will be how quickly Magyar will lift Hungary’s block on a critical €90bn loan for Ukraine and the union’s 20th round of sanctions against Russia.

For Magyar, a diplomat in Brussels during the Orbán years, the most urgent priority is to fulfil his campaign vow “to bring home” Hungary’s EU funds. Currently, €17bn in funds for Hungary’s economic development remain frozen, over failures to meet EU standards on fighting corruption, ensuring judicial independence, as well as disputes over academic freedom and Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ law.

Meanwhile, we are also getting a confirmation that Hungary’s outgoing prime minister Viktor Orbán will skip his final EU summit as he readies to hand over power after losing power in last Sunday’s parliamentary election.

Hungary’s EU affairs minister János Bóka confirmed he would not attend the meeting “due to his duties related to the handover of power,” and Hungary will not be politically represented in his absence.

The meeting is expected to discuss the crisis in the Middle East and the next EU budget, and the outgoing government said it communicated its views to the president of the European Council ahead of the summit.

Responding to Zelenskyy’s comments on sanctions (10:06), the European Commission said that “giving any relief in terms of sanctions … vis a vis Russia is not helpful in maintaining the pressure” on Moscow to end its aggression against Ukraine.

“It should be ironic that Russia is actually benefiting from the war in the Middle East,” the commission’s chief spokesperson Paula Pinho told reporters.

She said that the EU was still looking at tightening its sanctions and “hope to make some progress there” to make it difficult for Russia to “benefit from continuing this terrible war, where attacks do not stop as we just were reminded.”

Following the overnight attacks, the Ukrainian military struck two oil depots in Russia-occupied Crimea and infrastructure in Russia’s southern port of Tuapse, Kyiv’s drone forces commander said on the Telegram app.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry claimed that its overnight attack was focused on striking production facilities for cruise missiles and drones and energy targets, which it said supplied Ukraine’s armed forces, Reuters reported.

But the Ukrainian authorities said that the strikes killed a number of civilians, including two teenage children, with 16 dead, and some 100 wounded in total.

The Kremlin’s latest deadly attack comes after the end of a 32-hour Orthodox Easter truce marred by accusations of mass violations, according to both countries, AFP noted.

Peace talks spearheaded by the United States to end the war now grinding through its fifth year have been derailed by US and Israeli war with Iran, it noted.

German defence minister Boris Pistorius warned yesterday that while “the so-called Russian Ukrainian peace talks have currently been suspended, the truth is, anyway, Russia has never taken them seriously,” as he said “this is why it is all the more important to support Ukraine” (Europe Live, Wednesday).

President of the European Council António Costa has condemned the “horrendous” overnight attacks on Ukraine by Russia, alleging Russian forces “deliberately carried out follow-up strikes” to target first responders.

He said:

“As people slept in their homes, the cities of Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Kharkiv were struck by dozens of ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones. Russian armed forces deliberately carried out follow-up strikes on Ukrainian emergency services as first responders arrived to save lives.”

He added:

“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has failed, and so it chooses to deliberately terrorise civilians. Russia must stop this war of terror.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia “does not deserve any easing … or lifting on sanctions” after an overnight attack killed 16 and wounded 100 people in Ukraine.

He said:

“Russia is betting on war, and the response must be exactly that: we must defend lives with all available means, and we must also apply pressure for the sake of peace with the same full force.”

Zelenskyy said nearly 700 Russian drones and 19 ballistic missiles were fired at Ukraine, targeting mostly the capital city of Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro.

There can be no normalisation of Russia as it is today. Pressure on Russia must work.

Separately, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte is due to meet with the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and Germany’s Friedrich Merz will host Ireland’s Micheál Martin.

It’s Thursday, 16 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.