Hello,

Ukrainian drones struck a major Russian oil terminal near Finland, triggering a large fire at a facility handling around 60 million tonnes of oil annually, while Russia launched over 250 drones at Ukraine overnight in return.

Meanwhile, Trump extended his deadline to strike Iranian power plants by five days, sending oil prices down sharply, as both Washington and Tehran offered conflicting accounts of whether negotiations had taken place — with Turkey and Egypt claiming to have helped broker an exchange of messages over the weekend.

Read more below ⤵️

Top 5 Stories

1️⃣ 🇺🇦🇷🇺 Ukraine strikes major Russian oil port near Finland: Ukrainian drones hit a key oil terminal in Primorsk on the Gulf of Finland, triggering a large fire at a facility that handles approximately 60 million tonnes of oil annually. Ukraine’s General Staff also claimed a separate strike on a refinery in Ufa, while Russia launched 251 drones at Ukraine overnight, 234 of which were reportedly shot down.

2️⃣ 🇮🇱🇵🇸 Israeli settlers rampage through West Bank villages: Extremist settlers attacked over 20 Palestinian villages overnight, burning homes, vehicles, and fields in retaliation for the death of an 18-year-old settler reportedly struck by a Palestinian-driven vehicle. The IDF deployed troops after the fact, five individuals were arrested, and Israeli civil rights group Yesh Din described the events as “a night of pogroms,” saying security forces failed to act despite prior knowledge of the planned attacks.

3️⃣ 🇪🇺🇦🇺 EU and Australia seal trade and defense deal: The two sides agreed on the final text of a long-delayed free trade agreement, eliminating tariffs on key Australian exports while securing EU access to critical raw materials, with both citing a need to reduce dependence on China and hedge against U.S. tariffs. They also announced a new defense partnership spanning maritime security, cyber security, and disinformation, alongside plans for Australia to potentially associate with the Horizon Europe research program.

4️⃣ 🇰🇵🇯🇵 North Korea shuts door on Japan summit: Kim Yo Jong said a meeting between Kim Jong Un and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will not happen unless Japan abandons what she called its “anachronistic” practices, widely understood as references to Tokyo’s position on North Korea’s nuclear program and its pursuit of the abductions issue. The statement followed Takaichi’s disclosure that she had raised the prospect of a summit with Trump, who expressed support for resolving the abductions and offered to help facilitate a meeting.

5️⃣ 🇩🇰 Denmark votes amid fracturing U.S. alliance: Danes headed to the polls Tuesday in a snap election with polling showing a tight race between left and right blocs, and the centrist Moderates potentially holding the balance of power. Days before the vote, a report emerged that Denmark had shipped explosives to Greenland in January to destroy runways and prevent a potential U.S. military landing, sharply escalating tensions with Washington.

Major Story

🇮🇷 Iran War Update: Day 25 

Military

1️⃣ 🇮🇱🇱🇧 Smotrich calls for Israel to annex southern Lebanon up to Litani River: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel's northern border must be redrawn to the Litani River, deep inside Lebanese territory, marking the most explicit public call yet by a senior Israeli official for the seizure of Lebanese land.

2️⃣ 🇮🇷 Iran denies missile strike on Diego Garcia, calls it Israeli false flag: Iran rejected claims it fired missiles at the joint U.S.-U.K. base on Diego Garcia, with its foreign ministry dismissing the allegations as disinformation, a position that drew indirect support from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who said the alliance could not confirm Israel's assertion that the missiles were Iranian. 

Diplomacy

1️⃣ 🇺🇸🇮🇷 US and Iran edge toward talks as deadline extended: Trump claimed U.S. envoys held talks with an Iranian leader and that Iran was eager for a deal, extending his deadline to strike Iranian power plants by five days, though Iran's parliament speaker flatly denied any negotiations had taken place and accused Washington of using the claim to manipulate oil markets. Turkey and Egypt said they had been in contact with both sides, with an anonymous Egyptian official saying the two countries helped broker an exchange of messages over the weekend that averted strikes on energy infrastructure.

2️⃣ 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Trump floats joint control of Strait of Hormuz with Iran: Trump suggested the strategic waterway could be "jointly" controlled by himself and Iran's supreme leader.

3️⃣ 🇨🇳 China calls for ceasefire as war threatens its export outlook: Beijing's special envoy to the Middle East urged the U.S. and Israel to halt military operations after a shuttle diplomacy trip through Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, warning that continued hostilities risk plunging the entire region into chaos and creating a "vicious cycle." 

Economic/Oil

1️⃣ 🛢️ Oil prices plunge as Trump delays Iran strikes: Brent crude fell 10% to $101 a barrel and European and U.S. stock markets reversed sharp early losses after Trump extended his deadline to strike Iranian power plants by five days, offering markets a brief reprieve from weeks of war-driven volatility. Brent had hit $119.50 earlier this month, its highest since the war began, with Goldman Sachs forecasting an average of $85 a barrel for the year.

2️⃣ 🇯🇵 Japan unleashes record oil reserves amid Hormuz crisis: Japan will release approximately 80 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves this week — equivalent to 45 days of domestic demand and 1.8 times the amount released after the 2011 Fukushima disaster — as the country, which imports more than 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East, braces for prolonged disruption to Strait of Hormuz shipping.

Other News

1️⃣ 🇮🇹 Italian voters hand Meloni a stinging referendum defeat: Nearly 54% of voters rejected the prime minister’s proposed judiciary overhaul in a referendum that drew a record turnout of 58.5%, with analysts saying the result has damaged Meloni’s aura of political invincibility. The defeat is expected to complicate her push for a new electoral law ahead of the 2027 general election and her separate proposal to allow direct public election of the prime minister.

2️⃣ 🇭🇺 Hungary accused of feeding EU secrets to Moscow: Opposition frontrunner Péter Magyar called for a treason investigation into Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó after a Washington Post report alleged Hungary had for years relayed live updates from EU Council meetings directly to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. Prime Minister Orbán dismissed the report and ordered a probe into the alleged wiretapping of Szijjártó, while the European Commission demanded clarifications three weeks before elections in which Orbán’s Fidesz trails Magyar’s Tisza party.

3️⃣ ⚖️ ICC moves to suppress report clearing Karim Khan: A minority of mainly western states on the ICC’s governing bureau are seeking to block a confidential judges’ report that unanimously cleared prosecutor Karim Khan of sexual misconduct, according to an exclusive by Middle East Eye, which says it has obtained the document. The panel found the UN investigation underpinning the allegations failed to reach conclusive factual findings and relied heavily on hearsay, with legal experts warning the move risks politicising the court.

4️⃣ 🇺🇸 Mullin confirmed as DHS secretary amid shutdown: The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as the new head of the Department of Homeland Security in a 54-45 vote, replacing Kristi Noem who was ousted over her handling of the fatal shootings of two people by immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota. Mullin takes over a department that has been without funding since February 14, with the White House saying it had delayed resuming shutdown negotiations with Democrats until his confirmation was secured.

Weekly Updates?

Want weekly updates as well as daily?

Subscribe to our sister publication Geopolitics Weekly here ⤵️

Our Shop

Ukraine Phone Wallpaper Pack