|  | Zelensky with the Emir of Qatar last weekend. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service |
| What the Iran war means for Russia and Ukraine | It became clear this week that Donald Trump isn't just battling the ayatollahs in Iran, says Con Coughlin in The Daily Telegraph. He is also fighting "a proxy war against Moscow". There were reports in intelligence circles after Operation Epic Fury began in February that the Russians were providing Tehran with satellite intelligence to target American troops, ships and aircraft. Ukraine's President Zelensky has now claimed that Moscow was "directly involved" in helping the Iranians plan a missile-and-drone attack on a US base in Saudi Arabia last week, which destroyed a £370m radar plane and several refuelling aircraft. Vladimir Putin's calculation is clear: if the Iranian regime survives this war, it will demonstrate that America, for all its military might, "cannot dictate the international agenda". | On the surface, this is all bad news for Ukraine, says Marc Champion in Bloomberg. The war has pushed up oil prices – rescuing Russia from a budget crisis and straining Kyiv's benefactors in Europe – and torn through stocks of critical US weapons that might otherwise have made their way to Ukrainian troops. But Zelensky is "unfazed". Almost overnight, his country has become a hugely attractive security partner because of its extensive experience in drone warfare. The Ukrainian president sent around 200 experts in drone interception to help out Gulf states shortly after the war began, and last week signed 10-year drone deals worth billions of dollars with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. He has even offered to help equip the Strait of Hormuz with an equivalent to the system that has kept the Russian navy at bay in the Black Sea. Couple that with good news on the battlefield back home – Russia's spring offensive has so far been a bust – and Ukraine is having "a surprisingly good Iran war". |
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| | | | | | THE COUNTRY HOUSE The deceptively named Alscot Cottage is a 3,114 sq ft five-bedroom home that dates back to the 17th century and sits in a conservation area at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, says The Times. On the ground floor are two reception rooms with inglenook fireplaces – one with old etchings of fairy circles on the surround – and a kitchen with an electric Aga. Upstairs are the bedrooms, including a principal with a vaulted ceiling. Outside there is an orchard, a timber-framed barn with a self-contained annex, and landscaped gardens leading down to a chalk stream. Princes Risborough station is a short walk, with trains to London Marylebone in 45 minutes. £1.595m. |
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| | |  | X/@KidRock |
| Villains
The crews of two US Army helicopters, for taking an unauthorised detour during a training mission in Tennessee to hover outside Kid Rock's mansion, where they were enthusiastically saluted by the MAGA-favourite country star. Army chiefs launched an inquiry but Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth quickly shut it down, saying: "No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, Patriots." | Villains
Sweet-toothed thieves who stole a lorry carrying more than 400,000 KitKats in transit from Italy to Poland. "Call me a cynical old boot," says Carol Midgley in The Times, but I was struck that the theft of all this chocolate – which obviously generated masses of publicity – happened to take place in "the biggest chocolate sales week of the year". Just coincidence, I'm sure. | | | | You're missing out |  | Getty |
| The rest of today's heroes and villains are for paying subscribers only, which is tough on non-subscribers, because they're bangers. Also enjoyable – but, again, restricted – is a pleasing rant about how waiters conduct themselves and a gripping, somehow largely forgotten, account of an attempt to assassinate Hitler. | And it's not just today you're missing out on – every day something like two thirds of the newsletter is behind the paywall. The nice thing is, unlocking it is easy peasy, and costs almost nothing – £4 a month, or an even more ludicrous £40 for the whole first year. And it takes two ticks. | |
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