Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s aide says no part of Russia is safe after Kyiv hits base 800km from border – UK Times

Top Russian leaders have been informed that no part of its country is now safe from Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes that threaten far-off regions in Russia.

Sergei Shoigu, former defence minister and secretary of Russia’s security council told a council meeting on Tuesday that long-range attacks now threaten the Ural region, situated more than 1,500km (930 miles) from the country’s border.

Shoigu said Ukraine’s development of drones has advanced to a level that “no Russian region can feel safe” and the Ural region is already “in the immediate danger zone”.

He added that Ukraine’s aerial strikes on Russian infrastructure surged nearly fourfold in 2025, with more than 23,000 attacks recorded.

“The pace of weapons systems development, primarily that of unmanned drone systems, and the sophistication of the methods used to deploy them are such that no region of Russia can feel safe,” Shoigu told officials in the city of Yekaterinburg.

South Korea’s government ‌is discussing with companies the possibility of importing Russian crude oil and naphtha, Seoul’s industry ministry said, as authorities struggle to ​safeguard energy supplies amid the escalating conflict in ​the Middle East.

The issue is related to the ⁠easing of economic sanctions on Russia, the ministry ​said in a text message to Reuters.

South Korea stopped imports of ​Russian crude oil in December 2022 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according to data from the Korea National Oil Corporation.

Russian crude oil ​accounted for 5.6 per cent of South Korea’s shipments in ​2021, a report from the state-run think tank Korea Institute for ‌International ⁠Economic Policy said.

The country’s energy exposure to the Middle East has increased because of the conflict in Ukraine, the report said. South Korea imports around 70 per cent of ​crude oil ​and half ⁠of naphtha through the Strait of Hormuz, according to South Korean lawmakers and the ​industry ministry.

It is also a big importer ​of ⁠naphtha, which is broken down into petrochemicals used in plastics for automobiles, electronics, clothing and construction.

European ​Union leaders are expected to put heavy pressure on Hungarian leader Viktor Orban ‌today to lift his blockade on a vital €90bn (£77bn) EU loan to Ukraine to keep up its fight against Russia’s invasion.

EU leaders agreed to the loan in December but Orban, who has maintained cordial ties to Russia and repeatedly clashed ​with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, blocked its implementation last month, citing a dispute over a ​war-damaged pipeline.

At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, ​other leaders of the 27-nation bloc are expected to point to an agreement by Zelensky this week to fix the pipeline with EU technical help and funding, and press Orban to drop his opposition to the loan, diplomats say.

Many EU officials are particularly exasperated by Orban’s blockade as ⁠he secured ​an opt-out from paying for the costs of the loan, ​along with the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Orban, however, has so far shown no sign of backing down. “No oil deliveries? No money. ​It’s that simple,” he posted on X on Tuesday.

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that a Polish ⁠court decision to extradite a Russian archaeologist had no ⁠legal ​basis and ⁠that Moscow would work for ⁠his swift return ​to ⁠Russia.

A Warsaw ‌court ordered yesterday that Alexander ‌Butyagin should be extradited ‌to Ukraine, where he is ⁠accused of involvement in unauthorised excavation and plundering historical artefacts in Crimea, his lawyer said.

Butyagin is an employee of the renowned Hermitage museum in St Petersburg.

He was arrested by Polish authorities in December 2025 following a request from Ukraine.

Ukraine says it is defending not just its people and territory but also its cultural heritage in the war against Russia.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has said he will continue to block EU financing for Ukraine as long as oil shipments to Hungary remain interrupted.

Top European Union officials on Tuesday offered to pay Ukraine to repair a damaged pipeline meant to carry crude oil to Hungary, in a bid to persuade the government in Budapest to lift its veto on a massive aid package to the war-wracked country.

“If there’s no oil, there’s no money,” Orbán said in a video posted to social media on Monday. “If President Zelensky wants to get his money from Brussels, he needs to open the Druzhba oil pipeline,” he said.

EU leaders have lashed out at Orbán for agreeing to the loan to Ukraine at a summit in December and then reneging on that deal.

They accuse him of undermining the fundamental EU principle of “sincere cooperation” between the 27 member countries.

Orbán added that he believed Ukraine was deliberately holding up oil flows in order to tip the scales in favour of his political opponent ahead of Hungarian elections next month, but provided no evidence for his claim.

Ukraine and Hungary have been locked in a bitter feud since Russian oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia were halted in January due to damage to the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian officials have blamed the damage on Russian drone attacks.

Ukraine has struck two aircraft repair facilities in Russia’s Novgorod, located about 800km from the Ukrainian border, its military said.

The attack hit plants producing and repairing military transport and cargo planes in the Ulyanovsk and Novgorod regions.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said the attack on the Aviastar plant, part of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation, in the city of Ulyanovsk, was carried out on 16 March.

This facility produces Ilyushin-76MD-90A military transport planes, Ilyushin-78M-90A refueling planes, and provides maintenance for “Ruslan” cargo planes.

The strikes damaged hangars, parking areas and some planes stationed at the facility, Ukraine said.

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that a Polish ⁠court decision to extradite a Russian archaeologist had no ⁠legal ​basis and ⁠that Moscow would work for ⁠his swift return ​to ⁠Russia.

A Warsaw ‌court decided on Wednesday that Alexander ‌Butyagin should be extradited ‌to Ukraine, where he is ⁠accused of involvement in unauthorised excavation and plundering historical artefacts in Crimea, his lawyer said.

Butyagin is an employee of the renowned Hermitage museum in St Petersburg.