Ukraine-Russia battle newest: Russian oil tanker on fireplace in Mediterranean ‘after drone attack’

Russia’s true federal budget deficit in 2025 exceeded 2.36 trillion roubles (£24bn), far above official figures, as Moscow sought to hide the real costs of its war in Ukraine, Germany’s BND intelligence service claimed today.

In a LinkedIn post, the agency said Western sanctions were having a “clear effect” and that concealing economic damage made Russia an “incalculable risk” for investment.

“Putin is sacrificing Russia’s economic future for his imperial goals,” the intelligence service said.

The Ukrainian branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, was severely ⁠damaged by fire after a Russian attack, Ukraine’s energy minister Denys Shmyhal told Interfax Ukraine on Tuesday.

“Most of the internal equipment of the oil ⁠pipeline, various sensors and other ​equipment ⁠inside the oil pipeline were damaged by temperature conditions,” Shmyhal was quoted as saying.

Oil shipments through the pipeline primarily operated by Russia have been suspended since January 27 after what Kyiv says was a Russian attack on pumping installations in western Ukraine, prompting a dispute within the European Union and efforts by Hungary to block new sanctions on Russia. Hungary, in addition, has accused Ukraine of meddling in its April elections and has blocked a 90 billion euro EU loan to Kyiv.

Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, has halted construction work at new units of Iran’s nuclear power plant in ⁠the port city of Bushehr because of the U.S.-Israeli air assault on Iran, its chief Alexei Likhachev said on Tuesday.

Likhachev had earlier warned of the ⁠threat posed by ​strikes near Iranian ⁠nuclear facilities, and said explosions could be heard “just kilometres away” from the plant, although the facility itself was not being targeted.

Russia’s Central Bank said yesterday it had filed a legal challenge at the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg against the bloc’s indefinite freezing of approximately €210 billion in Russian assets, arguing the measures violated its property rights, right to justice, and the principle of sovereign immunity.

The claim, submitted on Friday, follows the European Parliament’s December decision to make the asset freeze permanent, having previously reviewed it every six months — a process that left it vulnerable to vetoes from Hungary and Slovakia. That same month, Russia’s Central Bank sued Belgian bank Euroclear, where around €190 billion of Russian state assets are held, in a Moscow commercial court.

It marks Russia’s first litigation against the EU at the General Court. The move comes amid ongoing discussions over using the frozen assets as collateral for a loan to Ukraine — a plan whose legality remains disputed. An expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies argued that the EU’s approach of “using” rather than seizing the assets minimised its legal exposure, though the question is far from settled.

Belgium has imposed a 10 million euro ($11.61 million) bail on Russian ​oil tanker Ethera, which it

seized on Sunday, the government said ‌on Tuesday.

The North Sea ministry said the tanker was part of a Russian shadow fleet sailing with a false flag and false documents.

“Forty-five violations ​were identified. These mainly involved false certificates, stemming from ​the discovery that the ship was sailing under a ⁠false Guinean flag,” it said in a statement.

The Ethera can ​sail again only after the sum is paid and a follow‑up ​inspection confirms compliance, including securing a flag state, obtaining valid certificates and fixing the technical issues.

“Our government is taking firm action against vessels in the ​shadow fleet. With this operation, we are enforcing EU sanctions, ​protecting the North Sea, and curbing the financing of Russia’s war in Ukraine,” ‌Defence ⁠Minister Theo Francken said.

Western sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine and aimed at cutting its oil revenues have led to the rise of a “shadow fleet” of tankers helping Moscow to keep ​its crude exports ​flowing.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has cautioned that the escalating conflict in the Middle East risks leaving Ukraine short of critical air defence missiles, as Western allies face competing demands on their weapons stocks.

In an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he said there was also a danger that Ukraine’s partners could lose focus on Kyiv’s defence against Russia.

“We could find ourselves having difficulty obtaining missiles and weapons to defend our skies,” he said. “The Americans and their allies in the Middle East might need them to defend themselves, for example Patriot missiles.”

Zelensky acknowledged the threat posed by a broader regional escalation when asked whether Washington and Brussels risked sidelining Ukraine’s needs amid the Middle East crisis. “Of course, it’s a risk. But I hope the Iranian crisis remains a limited operation and doesn’t turn into a long war. We know first-hand how bloody it risks being,” he said.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said he told Donald Trump during White House talks that Ukraine must not be forced into further territorial concessions, and stressed the need for continued support for Kyiv, which last week marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“We all want to see this war coming to an end as soon as possible. But Ukraine has to preserve its territory and their security interests,” Mr Merz told reporters at the start of his third visit to the Oval Office, adding that he showed Mr Trump a map of war-torn Ukraine and believed the US president had understood his point.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking after a meeting with Donald Trump yesterday, said he had urged the president to put pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

“Russia is playing for time here, and in doing so is also acting against the will of the American president. In today’s talks, I called for increasing the pressure on Moscow,” he told reporters.

The United States, Russia and Ukraine are taking part in trilateral talks aimed at securing a peace deal. Mr Merz though said only a pact supported by Europe could be lasting.

“We are not prepared to accept an agreement that is negotiated over our heads,” he said.

A Russian-flagged liquefied natural gas tanker linked to Moscow’s “shadow fleet” has reportedly caught fire in the Mediterranean Sea, according to maritime sources cited by Reuters.

The vessel, identified as the Arctic Metagaz, was said to be ablaze early on Monday. Some reports placed the incident near Malta, while others suggested the fire may have started closer to the Libyan coast.

Images circulating on social media appeared to show flames coming from the ship, though there was no immediate information about the condition of the crew.

One maritime source told Reuters the blaze could have been caused by a Ukrainian naval drone attack, but the cause has not been confirmed. Ukraine’s military has not commented.

The tanker is believed to be part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet – ships with opaque ownership structures used to transport Russian energy exports despite Western sanctions.