The European Union is making progress on a plan to provide loans to Ukraine using Russia’s immobilized central-bank assets — part of efforts to meet Kyiv’s rising financial needs as the 3 1/2-year war grinds on.

The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell sits down with Kyrylo Veres, commander of the K-2 regiment, a Ukrainian unit of the Unmanned Systems Forces that has evolved from an infantry battalion into a drone-led,