Ukraine-Russia battle newest: Secret Ukrainian unit struck Putin’s shadow fleet from Libya, officers say
A secret unit of Ukrainian forces launched attacks on a Russian oil tanker while operating in western Libya, officials in the north African country said.
In a suspected sea drone attack, Ukrainian forces hit the Russian-flagged Arctic Metagaz, carrying 61,000 tons of liquefied natural gas, causing it to suddenly explode in a massive fire early in March.
The oil tanker, part of Russia‘s so-called shadow fleet, was transporting oil in violation of international sanctions over Moscow‘s invasion of Ukraine.
It was badly damaged and its crew evacuated, leaving it to drift towards Libyan waters.
While Ukraine has not issued a direct comment on the Arctic Metagaz incident, it says Russia uses its oil export revenues to help fund the invasion, making its tanker fleet legitimate targets.
Earlier, ex-CIA chief David Petraeus said Vladimir Putin’s forces “no longer ha[ve] the upper hand” in the war with Ukraine.
He told CBS News: “Russia heavily outnumbers Ukraine. It outguns Ukraine. It has an economy 10 or 12 times the size of Ukraine’s. And yet the Ukrainian forces right now are stopping the Russians cold on the front lines.”
Italy’s deputy PM rules out Europe buying energy from Russia if Iran War continues
Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini has ruled out Europe buying energy from Russia amid instability in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US-Israeli war with Iran has triggered an energy crisis for the global economy by trapping large volumes of oil and gas in the Gulf after Tehran closed the strait to most vessels, hitting Europe and Italy particularly hard.
The disruption has led some, including Salvini’s far-right League party, to call on Europe to consider resuming energy purchases from Russia, which were cut off in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
However, Salvini backtracked on that position, saying it would not be feasible as long as the war in Ukraine continued.
“I hope that a time will soon come when it will be possible to speak about reconstruction and cooperation, including partnerships and energy, once the conflict with Russia has ended,” he told the Foreign Press Association in Italy.
Like other Nato allies reluctant to back US president Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran, Italy last week denied permission for US military aircraft to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily en route to the Middle East.
Salvini dismissed suggestions that mounting disagreements between Washington and European capitals could lead the US to disengage from Europe.
“I don’t believe there is any imminent issue regarding Nato troop withdrawals from Europe,” he said.
Germany rejects Vance claim over EU interference in Hungary election
Germany gas rejected US vice president JD Vance’s accusation that the European Union is interfering in Hungary’s upcoming election, a government spokesperson said in Berlin on Wednesday.
The fact that Vance is in Hungary “already shows, or speaks for itself, who is interfering in what”, added the spokesperson.
Norwegian Nobel Committee condemns Russia’s treatment of rights group Memorial
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Wednesday it was condemning “Russia’s attempt to criminalise Memorial” and to designate the human rights group, aco-recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, as an extremist organisation.
“The committee has learned that Russia’s Ministry of Justice has filed a claim to the Supreme Court requesting such a designation… If the claim is upheld, all activities of Memorial will be criminalised,” the Nobel body said in a statement.
The Russian embassy in Oslo did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by Reuters via email.
Memorial shared the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties, in an award widely regarded as a condemnation of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine earlier that year.
Russia summons Japanese ambassador over Ukrainian drone investment
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Moscow had summoned the Japanese ambassador in protest over an investment made by a Japanese startup in Ukrainian interceptor drone technology.
The Japanese company, Terra Drone, said in March it had invested an undisclosed sum in Ukrainian interceptor-drone producer Amazing Drones, which produces technology designed for rapid deployment on the battlefield.
The Kremlin has described Russia’s relations with Japan as having been “reduced to zero” over what it casts as Tokyo’s “unfriendly stance” towards Moscow.
Relations between Moscow and Tokyo, who have not signed a formal World War Two peace treaty, have been strained for decades over an unresolved territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories.
Russia claims some in EU are helping election rivals of Hungary’s Orban
Russia said on Wednesday that some political forces in the European Union were opposed to the re-election bid of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, and were trying to help his opponents.
The Kremlin’s intervention came a day after US vice president JD Vance, in Budapest, accused the EU of “disgraceful” interference in the April 12 election, which many opinion polls suggest could bring an end to Orban’s 16-year grip on power.
“Many forces in Europe, many forces in Brussels, would not like Orban to win the elections again,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about a leaked transcript, published by Bloomberg, of a conversation last year between Orban and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“This is well-known, it’s obvious to the naked eye, and, of course, they’re playing into the hands of those forces that politically oppose Orban and believe that publishing such materials could harm him,” Peskov told reporters.
He did not provide any evidence that any EU officials were in any way involved with the leak. A European Commission spokesperson said: “Elections are the sole choice of the citizens.”
Russian drone damages infrastructure at Ukraine’s largest Danube port
A Russian overnight drone attack on Ukraine’s largest Danube river port, Izmail, damaged a port facility, Ukraine’s regional development ministry said on Telegram on Wednesday.
“The enemy continues to target logistics and port infrastructure,” the ministry said.
According to its Telegram post, fires broke out in warehouses but were extinguished by emergency services. There were no casualties.
Izmail lies on the Danube at the southwestern tip of Ukraine and faces Romanian territory on the other riverbank. It has become an important and frequently hit logistical node for wartime Ukraine.
After Russia blockaded Ukraine’s Black Sea ports in the Odesa region in 2022, the river ports on the Danube – in particular, Izmail – became virtually the only waterway for Ukrainian imports and exports.
Following the lifting of the port blockade in 2023, the role of the Danube ports diminished. However, Ukraine still receives shipborne cargoes of explosives and fuel exclusively via the Danube terminals.
Kremlin says it hopes US will resume Ukraine peace talks after Iran ceasefire
The Kremlin on Wednesday welcomed the US-Iran ceasefire, and said Russia hopes that the US will now have the time and scope to resume three-way peace talks on Ukraine.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia hopes that the US and Iran will have direct contacts in the coming days to continue peace discussions.
Ukraine ‘ready to respond’ if Russia agrees to ceasefire, Zelensky says
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday he welcomed the ceasefire between the US and Iran, adding that Kyiv was ready to “respond in kind” if Moscow ceased strikes.
“Ukraine has always called for a ceasefire in the war waged by Russia here in Europe against our state and our people, and we support the ceasefire in the Middle East and the Gulf that paves the way for diplomatic efforts,” he wrote on X.
Ukraine welcomes US-Iran ceasefire, calls for same pressure on Moscow
Ukraine is among the latest countries to welcome the ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran and the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on X: “We welcome the agreement between President Trump and the Iranian regime to unblock the Hormuz strait and cease fire, as well as Pakistan’s mediation efforts. American decisiveness works.”
Sybiha, a close aide of Volodymyr Zelensky, called for similar efforts from Washington in stopping Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We believe it is time for sufficient decisiveness to force Moscow to cease fire and end its war against Ukraine,” he said.
Russia threatens Baltic nations over Ukraine’s attack on oil terminals
Russia has threatened a “response” to the Baltic nations after accusing them of supporting Ukraine’s drone campaign attacking Russian oil facilities.
Moscow claimed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had permitted Ukraine to send drones through their airspace in order to hit Russian oil terminals on the Baltic Sea coast.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russia’s northwestern Leningrad region, which is situated on the Baltic Sea and neighbours Estonia.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the Baltic states “have received an appropriate warning”.
“If the regimes of these countries have enough sense, they will listen. If not, they will have to deal with a response,” Zakharova said, without stating what exactly the response will be.
Source: independent.co.uk
