Ukraine-Russia war latest: Secret Ukrainian unit struck Putin’s shadow fleet from Libya, officials say – UK Times

US vice president JD Vance has said Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky ⁠made “scandalous” comments about Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, as he echoed Budapest’s accusations that Kyiv was using energy supplies to try to influence elections there.

In an effort to sway the ballot, Budapest has accused Kyiv of deliberately stopping flows of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline. Kyiv says the pipeline was damaged by a Russian ​drone ⁠attack in late January and it is ‌fixing it as fast as it can.

Hungary responded by blocking a €90bn (£78.3bn) EU loan for Ukraine, prompting Zelensky to say he could give the address of whoever was responsible to ‌the Ukrainian army, who could “speak with him in their own ‌language”.

Vance said Orban had told him about Zelensky’s remarks.

“It’s completely scandalous,” Vance said. “You should never have a foreign head of government… threatening the head of government of an allied nation,” without addressing the reports of Russian attack on the pipeline.

Vance’s remarks came during a visit to Budapest aimed at boosting the chances of the nationalist Orban, who faces the toughest challenge of his 16-year rule in an 12 April election seen as ⁠crucial for the influence of supporters of Donald Trump’s ​MAGA ⁠movement in Europe.

Russia warned Baltic countries not to let ⁠Ukrainian drones use their airspace to carry out attacks on targets in Russia.

Foreign ministry spokesperson ⁠Maria Zakharova ​was speaking after ⁠a spate of Ukrainian drone attacks on ⁠Russia’s Baltic ports of Primorsk ​and ⁠Ust-Luga, which have ‌disrupted its oil exports.

“Without a doubt, we view the ‌recent drone incidents as terrorist ‌attacks against the Russian Federation, carried out against industrial and ⁠civilian facilities,” Zakharova said at her weekly press conference.

“And if third countries have provided or are providing their territory for enemy drones to fly over, ‌they must fully understand – and ​we are confident ‌they do, ⁠because it has been explained ⁠to them – the risks they are ‌exposing ​themselves to.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he is welcoming 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.

“It is obvious to everyone that a ceasefire can create the right preconditions for ‌agreements,” he added.

Ukraine had previously ‌praised US “decisiveness” in attacking Iran, which is a close ally of Russia and has supplied thousands of drones ⁠that have been used to hit Ukraine.

Kyiv has repeatedly called for Moscow to agree to a full ceasefire in its four-year war so that the two sides can negotiate a peace deal. Russia says it wants ‌comprehensive terms for peace to be agreed ​before it stops fighting.

A Russian oil pumping station in Krymsk of Krasnodar Krai was hit by Ukrainian drones overnight, local reports said.

Krymsk is located in the east of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

According to the Telegram channel Astra, an electrical substation at the Krymskaya oil pumping station caught fire as a result of the strike.

Several explosions were heard during the drone attack, locals in the city said.

Local authorities are yet to confirm the drone attack.

Krasnodar Krai governor Veniamin Kondratyev instead reported that debris from a drone fell on a field in the suburbs of Krymsk and on the territory of an “enterprise”.

He also said one person was killed in the nearby village of Sauk-Dere.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said the reopening of the critical waterway the Strait of Hormuz was needed to stabilise oil prices but this should not add to Russia’s oil revenues.

“The announcement of a ceasefire in the Middle East allowed markets to respond positively – oil prices have tumbled. At the same time, this sends the right signal regarding Russia – there are effectively no grounds left to ease sanctions pressure,” he said last night on his X.

“Previously, easing sanctions was framed as a necessity to stabilise the global oil market. If the Strait of Hormuz can be unblocked – and this is a global necessity – Russia’s oil revenues should continue to decline,” Zelensky said, adding that oil fuels Russia’s war and emboldens it.

“This is precisely why Russia invested so heavily in supporting the Iranian regime and sought to prolong that war,” the Ukrainian president said.

President Donald Trump repeated his complaint about Nato after a closed-door meeting with the alliance’s secretary-general Mark Rutte on Wednesday for discussions that had been expected to be aimed at soothing Trump’s anger with the military alliance over the Iran war.

Ahead of the private meeting, Trump had suggested the US may consider leaving the trans-Atlantic alliance after Nato member countries ignored his call to help as Iran effectively shut the the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping waterway, and sent gas prices soaring.

Afterward, he issued an all-caps comment on social media suggesting he remained aggrieved. “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” Trump said in his post. The White House did not immediately offer any further updates.

The Republican president has had a warm relationship with Rutte in the past, and the meeting came after the US and Iran late Tuesday agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the strait.

The nascent ceasefire was struck after Trump said he would strike Iran’s power plants and bridges, threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”

Ukrainian security services (SBU) detained two Russian agents after a terrorist attack was prevented in Kharkiv.

The suspects made a homemade bomb, which was to be planted in the central part of Kharkiv and remotely detonated during the largest gathering of people, the SBU reported.

A ready-made IED, remnants of explosive components, mobile phones for remote activation of the explosion, and a smartphone with evidence of contacts with a Russian intelligence officer were seized from the detainees.

The SBU reported that the preparation was carried out by a local married couple who were looking for money for drugs on Telegram channels.

The suspects are detained on suspicion of preparation to commit a terrorist act by prior conspiracy by a group of persons and face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.