Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump envoys ‘disrespectful’ for visiting Moscow not Kyiv, Zelensky says

Hungary prime minister-elect Peter Magyar has suggested that officials linked to the previous administration are refusing to step aside and could be booted out if they fail to do so by the end of next month.

Viktor Orbán, who enjoyed good relations with Russia, conceded defeat to Magyar’s Tisza party following the election on 12 April.

The shift in power is expected to herald a new era of relations between Hungary and the EU and unlock a €90bn loan to support war-hit Ukraine that was vetoed by Orbán.

“Until 31 May, the Orbán puppets may voluntarily step down from their positions. This applies to the President of Hungary, the President of the Curia, the President of the National Office for the Judiciary, the President of the Constitutional Court, and the Prosecutor General,” Magyar said on X this morning.

“On 12 April, the Hungarian people voted for a complete political transformation. If these officials do not step down voluntarily by 31 May, then — on the basis of the mandate received from millions of Hungarians — we will remove them from office,” he said.

War-hit Ukraine should only be granted limited “symbolic” benefits and some form of “associate” membership of the EU as part of a peace deal to end the war with Russia, according to German and French proposals.

Though Paris and Berlin have drafted their own suggestions for what a fast-tracked integration into the EU might look like for Ukraine, according to the FT, both fall some way short of Ukrainian hopes.

According to Germany’s proposal, Kyiv would be allowed to sit in on ministerial and leaders’ meetings but would not have voting rights and would receive “no automatic application” of the shared EU budget.

The French proposal, which would described Ukraine as a country with “integrated state status”, would exclude Kyiv from EU farming subsidies.

Both say this status could be granted quickly to Ukraine once the war is over, and that it would be a stepping stone towards full integration into the bloc – a process that would still require Kyiv to navigate extensive bureaucratic hurdles.

A Ukrainian official told the FT that Kyiv was wary of watered-down membership being offered as a poor substitute for true EU member status, but accepted that some elements could be useful.

“We call it ‘shadow membership’,” the official said.

Hungarian election ​winner Peter Magyar has called on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to reopen the damaged Druzhba pipeline as soon as it is functional, and for Russia ⁠to resume oil shipments through it.

Hungary’s outgoing government, led by prime minister Viktor Orban, and Slovakia have been in a dispute with Ukraine over the suspension of Russian oil supplies over Ukrainian territory through ⁠the Soviet-era pipeline. Kyiv ​says ⁠the pipeline was shut due to a Russian attack in late January.

“If on the Ukrainian side the ⁠Druzhba pipeline is ready for oil shipments, then they ​should ⁠kindly reopen it as they ‌had promised,” Magyar told a news conference after the first meeting of his parliamentary group.

“And from Russia, we expect ‌them to start feeding oil (into the pipeline) ‌in line with the contracts, because this will not work without either.”

The pipeline could open today, according to a report by Bloomberg, restoring oil flow between Hungary and Russia.

The European Union and Hungary are aligned on the need to clear a €90bn loan for Ukraine, Hungarian outgoing prime minister Viktor Orbán said.

The Kremlin-friendly leader was the only impediment to the critical funding being pushed through by the EU, and his successor Peter Magyar has said he seeks smoother ties with Brussels and while looking out for Budapest’s financial interests.

Almost 10 days after losing the elections, Orbán yesterday said Hungary will lift its objections to the loan as it has “received an indication from Ukraine” via Brussels that Kyiv was ready to restore oil deliveries via the damaged Druzhba pipeline that runs from Russia via Ukraine.

Kyiv ​says ⁠the pipeline was shut due to a Russian attack in late January.

“Once oil deliveries are restored, we will no longer stand in the way of approving the loan,” said Orbán, who earlier claimed the repair of the pipeline as a condition to clear the loan but has repeatedly caused obstruction in the coalition’s relief work for Ukraine.

The pipeline is set to be opened today, clearing the way for the loan, reported Bloomberg.

The AURA 1 and INA, two crude oil tankers, crossed into British parts of the North Atlantic Ocean over the weekend, according to MarineTraffic. The two vessels could be seen transiting around 60km apart from each other as they headed in opposite directions near the Hebrides as early as 7am on Monday morning.

AURA 1, flying under a Panamanian flag, departed from Russia’s Ust-Luga cargo port on 9 April and crossed into British parts of the North Sea on Saturday before 3pm, transiting through the Scottish isles as part of its passage to Port Said, Egypt. The tanker was one of the latest to be sanctioned by the Foreign Office (FCDO) on 24 February.

A major overnight Russian attack on Ukraine is continuing, the Ukrainian military said in an update this morning, with at least 143 drones and two missiles fired so far.

Russian forces attacked Ukraine with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 143 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas and other types of drones, the Ukraine Air Force said, adding that around 80 of the UAVs were Shahed loitering munitions.

The attack is still underway and several Russian drones are still in Ukrainian airspace, the air force said in an 8am update.

At least 22 drones have struck 17 locations and falling drone debris has been recorded at seven locations, officials said.

At least six people were injured in a Russian drone attack on the city of Sumy overnight, officials said.

One of the drones struck a residential area, while another hit the grounds of a medical facility, said regional governor Oleh Hryhoriv.

The injured include a 17-year-old girl who was hospitalised along with two men, and another person who received treatment at the scene, said Serhii Kryvosheyenko, head of the Sumy city military administraion.

Locals also reported numerous explosions across the city. One of the strikes caused a fire, damaged residential buildings, cars and a medical facility.

Russian interior ​minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev arrived in North Korea for talks on cooperation between the ⁠two allies, the ministry’s spokesperson Irina Volk said early on Tuesday.

“Issues of cooperation between ⁠the two ​countries ⁠in the field of law enforcement will be ⁠considered,” Volk wrote on Telegram. ​Pictures ⁠showed the ‌minister being greeted on arrival in Pyongyang.

Russia and North ‌Korea have forged closer ‌relations since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and in ⁠2024 signed a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty” during a visit to Pyongyang by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The pact includes a mutual defence provision.

Under ‌the terms of the ​treaty, North Korea ‌sent some ⁠14,000 soldiers to fight alongside ⁠Russian forces in western Russia’s Kursk ‌region ​after a ‌large Ukrainian incursion.

Across the Chernobyl exclusion zone, a radioactive landscape too dangerous for human life, the world’s wildest horses roam free. Przewalski’s horses – stocky, sand-coloured, and almost toy-like – graze an area larger than Luxembourg.

This desolate territory was created on 26 April 1986, when an explosion at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant sent radiation across Europe, forcing the evacuation of entire towns and displacing thousands. It remains the worst nuclear disaster in history.

Four decades on, Chernobyl (Chornobyl in Ukraine) remains too dangerous for humans. Yet, wildlife has moved back in. Wolves now prowl the vast no-man’s-land spanning Ukraine and Belarus, and brown bears have returned after more than a century. Populations of lynx, moose, red deer, and even free-roaming dogs have rebounded.