Watch: Zelensky blames Iran was for stalled weapon supply as Russia continues to attack Ukraine Zelensky blames Iran was for stalled weapon supply as Russia continues to attack Ukraine
Arpan Rai28 April 2026 06:50
Germany’s Merz cautions against Ukraine’s rapid accession to EU
German chancellor Friedrich Merz cautioned against raising hopes for rapid accession, however, saying Ukraine cannot join the bloc while at war and must first meet strict criteria including those regarding the rule of law and on fighting corruption.
“[Volodymyr] Zelensky had the idea of joining the EU on January 1, 2027. That will not work. Even January 1, 2028 is not realistic,” Merz said.
He proposed intermediate steps such as observer roles for Ukraine in EU institutions, which he said met broad approval among European leaders at their summit last week in Cyprus, which Zelensky attended.
The European Union last week approved a €90bn loan to Ukraine, covering most of its needs through 2027, but the bloc remains divided over the pace of accession talks.
Arpan Rai28 April 2026 06:24
Fire breaks out at Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery after drone attack
Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea, causing a fire, authorities said on Tuesday.
The Rosneft owned refinery and the port of Tuapse have been repeatedly attacked by drones in the past few weeks.
Arpan Rai28 April 2026 06:11
Germany says Kyiv could cede territory to achieve peace
German chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Ukraine might have to lose territory in order to reach a peace deal with Russia, which could in turn bring it closer to EU membership.
“Hopefully, there will eventually be a peace treaty with Russia. Then, possibly, part of Ukraine’s territory will no longer be Ukrainian,” he said, speaking during a discussion with students in Germany’s Marsberg.
He added that Zelensky would need a referendum for such a step, something the Ukrainian leader has previously noted himself.
To pass such a vote, Zelensky will have to tell the Ukrainians: “But I have opened the way to Europe for you,” Merz said.
Merz said that the European Union should offer Kyiv a clear and credible roadmap to the EU amid its accession efforts.
“Ukraine must have a European perspective. We must not lose Ukraine to Russia, but rather tell the people of Ukraine that they have a future in Europe,” he said.
(AFP/Getty)
Arpan Rai28 April 2026 05:58
Israeli foreign minister rejects Kyiv’s ‘stolen grain’ allegations
Israel has denied importing stolen Ukrainian grain from Russia, saying Kyiv has not provided evidence to support the claim.
Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar accused his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha of conducting diplomacy through the media.
Sybiha said he summoned Israel’s ambassador over what he described as Israeli inaction in allowing shipments of grain to enter the country from Russian-occupied Ukraine.
Israel’s ambassador, Sybiha said, had been asked to appear at the foreign ministry on Tuesday so that Kyiv could “present our protest note and request appropriate action”.
In his response, also on X, Sa’ar said the issue would be examined, but that allegations were not evidence and no evidence had been provided.
“You did not even submit a request for legal assistance before turning to the media and social networks,” Sa’ar said.
Diplomatic relations “are not conducted on Twitter or in the media”, he added.
A Ukrainian diplomatic source, speaking earlier on condition of anonymity, said that if Israel did not reject the latest cargo, Kyiv would “reserve the right to deploy a full suite of diplomatic and international legal responses”.
The source said Kyiv was tracking the latest vessel and Israel had “essentially shrugged off” Kyiv’s previous demands.
Arpan Rai28 April 2026 05:36
Iranian foreign minister praises Russia ties as he meets Putin in Moscow
Iran foreign minister Abbas Araqchi has welcomed Russia’s support for diplomacy and praised the strength of ties between the two countries, after meeting with president Vladimir Putin on Monday, saying recent events had demonstrated the depth of their strategic partnership.
Putin received Araqchi in the presidential library in Russia’s former imperial capital St Petersburg as sources from mediator Pakistan said work had not halted to bridge gaps between the United States and Iran.
Putin said he received a message from Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, last week, and asked Araqchi to convey to him that Russia intended to continue its strategic partnership with Tehran.
Russia has offered to mediate to try to help restore calm to the Middle East following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran that Moscow has strongly condemned.
Russia has also repeatedly offered to store Iran’s enriched uranium as a way of defusing tensions, a proposal spurned by the United States.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi attend a meeting at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library in Saint Petersburg (Reuters)
Arpan Rai28 April 2026 04:45
Russia targets Odesa in major attack wounding 14
An overnight Russian drone attack in the early hours of Monday on Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa wounded more than a dozen people, including two children, and damaged residential buildings, Ukrainian officials said.
The strikes caused the worst damage in the historic central Prymorskyi district, where residential buildings, a hotel and facilities were damaged, said Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local military administration, on Telegram.
Most of the injured people were located there, Lysak said.
The regional governor, Oleh Kiper, said the number of injured rose to 14.
Odesa, a major Black Sea port and a focal point for Ukrainian exports, has been a repeated target of Russian attacks during more than four years of Russia’s war.
“It was an extremely difficult night,” Lysak said, adding that high-rise residential buildings, private homes and vehicles came under attack in two other districts.
He posted photographs of a damaged building with shattered windows.
Ukraine’s seaports authority said that port infrastructure of the Greater Odesa hub came under attack, and a “Ramco” Nauru-flagged vessel sustained minor damage as it moved through a Ukrainian maritime corridor.
A security guard stands in a hotel hit by a Russian drone strike amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine in Odesa (Reuters)
Arpan Rai28 April 2026 04:31
Lithuania charges 13 people with two attempted murders linked to Russia’s GRU
Lithuania has charged 13 people from a number of countries with two attempted murders in Vilnius linked to Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency, the chief of the Baltic country’s criminal police said yesterday.
Lithuania’s investigation, which began early last year, has determined that those who sought the killings were acting in the interests of the GRU, said police chief Saulius Briginas.
The suspects, some of whom were arrested in Lithuania in March, have been charged with seeking to kill one Lithuanian – an activist and fundraiser for Ukraine – and one Russian national, the police said. The Russian national is a dissident and activist for the rights of bashkirs, a minority in Russia, who has been given asylum in Lithuania.
“We are witnessing hybrid-style crimes against European Union countries, their national security, and persons who act in support of Ukraine,” Briginas told reporters in Vilnius.
The same suspects were also believed by police to be behind an arson attack on Ukraine-bound military equipment in Bulgaria and espionage against the Greek military, he added.
Ukrainian police separately said on Monday that the same group of people, whom they described as a “Russian intelligence network”, also sought to murder Ukrainian journalists and an intelligence official.
Russia’s defence ministry, which is in charge of military intelligence, is yet to comment.
Moscow has always denied allegations it is involved in such operations or in a wider sabotage campaign involving arson attacks aimed at destabilising Ukraine’s allies.
Arpan Rai28 April 2026 04:21
Ukraine to take measures against Israel if grain ship docks, source says
Israel risks a diplomatic and legal response from Kyiv if it allows a vessel carrying grain from Russian-occupied Ukraine to dock at the port of Haifa, a Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters on Monday.
Haaretz reported earlier that the vessel Panormitis, which is reported to be carrying grain from occupied Ukrainian territory that Kyiv regards as stolen, was waiting for permission to dock at the Israeli port.
“If this ship and its cargo isn’t rejected, we reserve the right to deploy a full suite of diplomatic and international legal responses,” the Ukrainian source said on condition of anonymity.
Israel’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request by Reuters for comment.
On Sunday Haaretz reported that four shipments of grain from occupied Ukraine had already been unloaded in Israel this year.
Maira Butt28 April 2026 04:00
Ukraine summons Israel’s ambassador over ‘stolen’ grain shipments
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has said Israel’s ambassador had been summoned to his ministry over what he described as Israeli inaction in allowing shipments of grain to enter the country from Russian-occupied Ukraine.
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar told Sybiha that Ukraine had provided no evidence to support allegations that the grain was “stolen”. He accused him of conducting diplomacy through the media.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported earlier that the vessel Panormitis, which it said was carrying grain from occupied Ukrainian territory, was waiting for permission to berth in Haifa.
The newspaper said four shipments of grain from occupied Ukraine had already been unloaded in Israel this year.
Sybiha said it was “difficult to understand Israel’s lack of appropriate response to Ukraine’s legitimate request regarding the previous vessel that delivered stolen goods to Haifa”.
“Now that another such vessel has arrived in Haifa, we once again warn Israel against accepting the stolen grain and harming our relations,” he wrote.
Israel’s ambassador, he said, had been asked to appear at the foreign ministry on Tuesday so that Kyiv could “present our protest note and request appropriate action”.
Arpan Rai28 April 2026 03:57