US President Donald Trump said on Sunday 29 March that he does not oppose a Russian-flagged oil tanker reaching Cuba, even though such a move would violate the fuel blockade imposed by his administration.

EU officials are discussing contingency plans in the event that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's party wins the parliamentary elections, with five different options under consideration.

Several hundred US special operations forces fighters have arrived in the Middle East, joining thousands of marines and paratroopers to provide President Trump with additional capabilities for escalating the war with Iran.

Candidates from the opposition Tisza party are showing strong chances of defeating long-serving MPs from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's ruling Fidesz party in several key constituencies ahead of Hungary's parliamentary elections on 12 April.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said Russia will not take part in the talks between Ukraine and the United States scheduled for 21 March in the US.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said media reports misrepresented her comments about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's position on blocking a loan to Ukraine.

EU leaders have condemned Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure that resulted in pollution of the Dnister River.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said he believes the European Union will not survive without Russian energy resources and described the EU's stance on phasing out Russian oil as "crazy".

Naftogaz, Ukraine's largest state-owned oil and gas company, has announced that it has briefed the EU deputy ambassador to Ukraine on a plan to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline.

Self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is holding a meeting on Thursday with a US delegation led by John Coale, the US Special Envoy to Belarus.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán believes that Russia's aggression against Ukraine should not prevent it from becoming part of Europe's future security and energy systems.

Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár has claimed that Ukraine has already announced timelines for repairing the Druzhba oil pipeline on more than one occasion, so the situation should be verified by experts on the ground.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday began a visit to Spain with a stop at the defence company Sener Aerospace&Defence.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have discussed the involvement of additional countries in an initiative to purchase US weapons for Ukraine and an increase in current contributions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the United Kingdom's capital on an official visit on Tuesday 17 March.