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

Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, claimed that Russian forces have captured 1,700 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory and 80 settlements since the beginning of this year.

Here’s all you need to know in just five bullet points:

Russia is ready to resume oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia whenever Ukraine ends what Moscow called its “blackmail”, the Kremlin has said.

Outgoing Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, and the Slovakian government, have been in 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. Volodymyr Zelensky said it would be put back into operation by the end of April.

“As things stand, you are aware that the Russian side remains technically ready. We have contractual obligations with Hungary. But following the start of the Kyiv regime’s blackmail, deliveries have been halted,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

“Everything depends on the Kyiv regime – whether they will open the pipeline and put an end to the blackmail.”

We’ve heard from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who has accused Europe of holding clear ambitions to “nuclearise and militarise”.

Peskov was commenting on a Politico report that French and Polish leaders had discussed holding joint nuclear exercises.

France – the European Union’s only nuclear power – is leading an effort to include allies in its nuclear deterrent. Peskov said such efforts do not contribute to stability on the European continent.

Ukrainian drones have struck an oil dispatch facility in Russia’s Samara region overnight, an official within Ukraine’s SBU security service has told Reuters news agency.

The attack caused a fire the official said on Tuesday.

According to preliminary data, he added, it also damaged five tanks containing crude oil, each with a capacity of 20,000 cubic metres.

Forty years after the world’s worst nuclear accident, Petro Hurin continues to grapple with the devastating health consequences of his time as a “liquidator” at Chernobyl. His health, he says, has never been the same since he was dispatched to clear the site in the wake of the catastrophic explosion.

Mr Hurin was one of hundreds of thousands of individuals mobilised to clean up after the blast at reactor four of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine on 26 April 1986. The disaster unleashed clouds of radioactive material that spread across much of Europe, leaving a toxic legacy.

In the immediate aftermath, 31 plant workers and firefighters perished, primarily from acute radiation sickness. Since then, thousands more have succumbed to radiation-related illnesses, including various forms of cancer, though the precise total death toll and long-term health effects remain a subject of intense debate among experts.

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.

We’ve had an update from Moscow’s Defence Ministry on the frontline situation in Ukraine.

Russian troops have taken control of two Ukrainian villages, Hryshyne in the eastern Donetsk region and Veterynarne in the northeastern Kharkiv region, the ministry said according to state news agencies.

The Independent is not able to independently verify the battlefield report, and Kyiv is yet to publicly comment on the claims.

We’ll bring you any further updates as soon as they come in.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said he is not aware of Russia’s plans to halt Kazakhstan’s oil exports via the Druzhba pipeline to Germany starting from May 1.

“We will try to check it,” Peskov told reporters in a daily update.

Three industry sources had earlier told Reuters news agency that Russia is set to stop oil exports from Kazakhstan to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline starting from May 1.