Ukraine might have to lose territory in order to achieve a peace deal with Russia and – eventually – membership of the EU, German chancellor Friedrich Merz has suggested.
“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 said Zelensky would need to convince Ukrainians to back such a step at a referendum, telling them: “But I have opened the way to Europe for you.”
Earlier, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Israel's ambassador had been summoned 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" and accused him of conducting diplomacy through the media.
Key Points
- Germany says Kyiv could cede territory to achieve peace
- Israeli foreign minister rejects Kyiv's 'stolen grain' allegations
- Iranian foreign minister praises Russia ties as he meets Putin in Moscow
- Russia targets Odesa in major attack wounding 14
- Lithuania charges 13 people with two attempted murders linked to Russia's GRU
Three killed in Ukrainian drone attacks in Russia's Belgorod
10:30 , Arpan RaiUkrainian drone attacks on civilian cars killed three people and wounded three others in different districts of Russia's Belgorod region, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Evacuation under way in Russia's Tuapse refinery after drone attack
10:00 , Arpan RaiAn evacuation was under way after a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a major fire at Russia's Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea, regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said this morning.
Just hours earlier, authorities said Ukrainian drones attacked Russia's Tuapse oil refinery, which has an annual production capacity of about 12 million metric tons, or 240,000 barrels per day, turning out naphtha, diesel, fuel oil and vacuum gasoil.
It was the latest of repeated drone attacks in the past few weeks on the Rosneft-owned refinery and the port of Tuapse that led to an oil spill at sea and a blaze that took several days to put out.
The refinery, which delivers oil products mainly for exports, had stopped operations from 16 April after a drone attack, industry sources have said.
Ukraine has ramped up its strikes on Russia since March as the US-brokered peace talks have been paused with Washington mainly focusing on the war in Iran.
Ukraine to take measures against Israel if grain ship docks, source says
09:30 , Arpan RaiIsrael 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.
Germany's Merz cautions against Ukraine's rapid accession to EU
09:15 , Arpan RaiGerman 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.
Germany says Kyiv could cede territory to achieve peace
09:00 , Arpan RaiGerman 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.
Ukraine evacuates 77-year-old woman from frontline town 'under constant fire' with ground drone
08:45 , Arpan RaiAn elderly woman trapped on the frontlines of Ukraine was rescued by a drone on a heroic recovery mission, according to soldiers.
Video shared by the Third Army Corps on Telegram shows an unmanned ground drone arriving to pick the pensioner up on a road under fire in Lyman, eastern Ukraine.
“With no hope of survival, she walked through shell craters and the bodies of fellow villagers — until a robot arrived for her,” the corps said.
They said the robot was covered in a blanket so as to not scare her, and had attached a note that read: “Grandma, sit down!”
The 60th Motorized Rifle Brigade led the four-hour operation to rescue four civilians in the area, they said.
From battlefield tool to rescue mission. @ab3army defenders used a ground robot to pull a 77-year-old woman out of a frontline danger zone. War tech saving lives.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 27, 2026
📹: @United24media pic.twitter.com/eOQyQqtmnP
Watch: Iranian foreign minister visits Russia for Putin talks
08:30 , Arpan RaiRussia targets Odesa in major attack wounding 14
08:15 , Arpan RaiAn 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.
Russia claims its forces took control of two more settlements in Ukraine
07:55 , Arpan RaiThe Russian defence ministry said its forces have taken control of the villages of Illichivka and Taratutyne in eastern Ukraine, the state-run RIA news agency reported.
Over the weekend, Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces are conducting offensive operations in the Taratutyne direction (southeast of Sumy City) and in other areas of Sumy oblast.
A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces advanced into Taratutyne.
A Kremlin-affiliated Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces have launched a new offensive southeast of Sumy City toward Novodmytrivka and Taratutyne after an almost two-month pause, since February this year, said the Institute for the Study of War.
Ukraine has not commented on Russia's claims immediately.
Evacuation under way in Russia's Tuapse refinery after drone attack
07:51 , Arpan RaiAn evacuation was under way after a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a major fire at Russia's Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea, regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said this morning.
Just hours earlier, authorities said Ukrainian drones attacked Russia's Tuapse oil refinery, which has an annual production capacity of about 12 million metric tons, or 240,000 barrels per day, turning out naphtha, diesel, fuel oil and vacuum gasoil.
It was the latest of repeated drone attacks in the past few weeks on the Rosneft-owned refinery and the port of Tuapse that led to an oil spill at sea and a blaze that took several days to put out.
The refinery, which delivers oil products mainly for exports, had stopped operations from 16 April after a drone attack, industry sources have said.
Ukraine has ramped up its strikes on Russia since March as the US-brokered peace talks have been paused with Washington mainly focusing on the war in Iran.
Three killed in Ukrainian drone attacks in Russia's Belgorod
07:44 , Arpan RaiUkrainian drone attacks on civilian cars killed three people and wounded three others in different districts of Russia's Belgorod region, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Putin praises Iranian people for resistance to US in talks with Araghchi
07:35 , Arpan RaiRussian president Vladimir Putin praised the Iranian people for battling to stay independent in the face of US and Israeli pressure and said Moscow would do all it could to help Tehran.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi visited russia on Monday following a trip to Muscat, Oman and Islamabad, Pakistan over the weekend.
Moscow has offered to mediate and store Iran’s enriched uranium as a way of defusing tensions, a proposal that has been spurned by the United States.
“We see how courageously and heroically the Iranian people are fighting for their independence and sovereignty," Putin told Araghchi.
“For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests and the interests of all the peoples of the region to ensure that peace is achieved as quickly as possible.”
Sanctioned Russian billionaire's superyacht crosses blockaded Strait of Hormuz
07:15 , Arpan RaiA superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, shipping data showed, one of very few vessels to transit the blockaded shipping lane at the heart of the US-Iran conflict.
Mordashov was among a number of Russians sanctioned by the United States and European Union after Russia's invasion of Ukraine for their links to Putin.
Nord – a 142-metre (465-foot) yacht worth over $500m – left a Dubai marina at around 1400GMT on Friday, crossed the strait on Saturday morning, and arrived in Muscat early on Sunday, according to data on the MarineTraffic platform.
It is not clear how the multi-deck pleasure vessel gained permission to use the route. Since February, Iran has severely restricted traffic through the strait, which typically handles around one-fifth of the world's oil supply.
Just a few, mainly merchant vessels, have been passing daily through the crucial waterway at the entrance to the Gulf as Washington and Tehran maintain an uneasy ceasefire. This represents a fraction of the average 125 to 140 daily passages before the Iran war began on 28 February.
Watch: Zelensky blames Iran was for stalled weapon supply as Russia continues to attack Ukraine
06:50 , Arpan RaiGermany's Merz cautions against Ukraine's rapid accession to EU
06:24 , Arpan RaiGerman 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.
Fire breaks out at Russia's Tuapse oil refinery after drone attack
06:11 , Arpan RaiUkrainian 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.
Germany says Kyiv could cede territory to achieve peace
05:58 , Arpan RaiGerman 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.
Israeli foreign minister rejects Kyiv's 'stolen grain' allegations
05:36 , Arpan RaiIsrael 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.
Iranian foreign minister praises Russia ties as he meets Putin in Moscow
04:45 , Arpan RaiIran 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.
Russia targets Odesa in major attack wounding 14
04:31 , Arpan RaiAn 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.
Lithuania charges 13 people with two attempted murders linked to Russia's GRU
04:21 , Arpan RaiLithuania 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.
Ukraine to take measures against Israel if grain ship docks, source says
04:00 , Maira ButtIsrael 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.
Ukraine summons Israel's ambassador over 'stolen' grain shipments
03:57 , Arpan RaiUkrainian 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".
In focus: Britain is losing its hybrid war with Russia and is unprepared for conflict, warns top former US aide
03:00 , Maira ButtBritain is failing in its efforts to fight a hybrid war with Russia and is unprepared for a wider-scale global conflict, a top former government aide and senior analysts have warned.
As war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz leave the world reeling from higher oil, petrol, food and fertiliser prices, and conflict grinds on in Ukraine, fundamental planning to protect the UK is not taking place.
Fiona Hill, former director for European and Russian affairs in the National Security Council in Donald Trump's first administration, describes the UK’s contingencies for dealing with present and future disruptions as “not fit for purpose”.
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:
Britain is losing hybrid war with Russia and cannot cope with conflict, warns ex-aide
Watch: Zelensky accuses Russia of attacking nuclear plant on 40th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster
02:00 , Maira ButtComment: Trump’s blindness to Iran and Russia’s military collaboration is staggering
01:00 , Maira ButtDonald Trump keeps America’s friends close but has also kept its Russian enemies in an embarrassing embrace.
However, his passion for Vladimir Putin is being tested as his envoys clamber into bed with Iran’s envoys, welcoming Tehran’s foreign minister in St Petersburg on Monday. Like the victim of a coercive relationship, Trump has seemingly gone out of his way to forgive the infidelity of Russia’s president.
Asked about Moscow’s supply of intelligence to Iran that has been used to kill American personnel over the last two months, he replied: “I don’t know, look, they can give all the information that they want but people they’re sending to are overwhelmed. Russia would be overwhelmed too. Anybody would be overwhelmed.”
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:
Trump’s blindness to Iran and Russia’s military collaboration is staggering
Ukraine’s land robots are revolutionising the shapeshifting war with Russia
Tuesday 28 April 2026 00:01 , Maira ButtFirst came the infantry, next the missiles, then the drones.
Now, after more than four years of a bloody and grinding war in Ukraine, remote-controlled ground robots are assuming command over the battlefield.
Last Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade had regained territory exclusively using a combination of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and drones – a mission he says was a first in the war.
“The occupiers surrendered, and the operation was carried out without infantry and without losses on our side,” he went on, referring to an operation from the northeastern Kharkiv region last year, in which Ukrainian infantry occupied a position gained using the UGVs.
Alex Croft reports:
Ukrainian robots are revolutionising the shapeshifting war with Russia
Lithuania charges 13 people with two attempted murders linked to Russia's GRU, police say
Monday 27 April 2026 23:00 , Maira ButtLithuania has charged 13 people from various 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 on Monday.
The investigation, which began early last year, has determined that those who sought the killings were acting in the interests of the GRU, according to police chief Saulius Briginas.
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.
Watch: Iranian foreign minister visits Russia for Putin talks
Monday 27 April 2026 22:00 , Maira ButtPutin praises Iranian people for resistance to US in talks with Araghchi
Monday 27 April 2026 21:00 , Maira ButtRussian President Vladimir Putin on Monday praised the Iranian people for battling to stay independent in the face of US and Israeli pressure and said Moscow would do all it could to help Tehran.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi visited russia on Monday following a trip to Muscat, Oman and Islamabad, Pakistan over the weekend.
Moscow has offered to mediate and store Iran’s enriched uranium as a way of defusing tensions, a proposal that has been spurned by the United States.
“We see how courageously and heroically the Iranian people are fighting for their independence and sovereignty," Putin told Araghchi.
“For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests and the interests of all the peoples of the region to ensure that peace is achieved as quickly as possible.”
Ukraine to take measures against Israel if grain ship docks, source says
Monday 27 April 2026 20:05 , Daniel KeaneIsrael 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.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported earlier that the vessel Panormitis, which it said was carrying grain from occupied Ukrainian territory that Kyiv regards as stolen, was waiting for permission to berth in Haifa.
"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 for comment.
Ukraine evacuates 77-year-old woman from frontline town 'under constant fire' with ground drone
Monday 27 April 2026 18:00 , James ReynoldsAn elderly woman trapped on the frontlines of Ukraine was rescued by a drone on a heroic recovery mission, according to soldiers.
Video shared by the Third Army Corps on Telegram shows an unmanned ground drone arriving to pick the pensioner up on a road under fire in Lyman, eastern Ukraine.
“With no hope of survival, she walked through shell craters and the bodies of fellow villagers — until a robot arrived for her,” the corps said.
They said the robot was covered in a blanket so as to not scare her, and had attached a note that read: “Grandma, sit down!”
The 60th Motorized Rifle Brigade led the four-hour operation to rescue four civilians in the area, they said.
From battlefield tool to rescue mission. @ab3army defenders used a ground robot to pull a 77-year-old woman out of a frontline danger zone. War tech saving lives.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 27, 2026
📹: @United24media pic.twitter.com/eOQyQqtmnP
Watch: Russian overnight assault on Odesa leaves one injured and buildings damaged
Monday 27 April 2026 17:00 , James ReynoldsRecap: Trump says animosity between Putin and Zelensky 'ridiculous'
Monday 27 April 2026 16:00 , James ReynoldsDonald Trump said the animosity between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky was “ridiculous” on Sunday, as the warring leaders float the possibility of new peace talks.
Trump told Fox News on Sunday that “we're working on the Russia situation, Russia and Ukraine, and hopefully we're going to get it (a peace deal)”.
He said he was still having “good conversations” with both Putin and Zelensky.
“The hatred between President Putin and President Zelensky is ridiculous. It's crazy. And hate is a bad thing. Hate is a bad thing when you're trying to settle something, but it'll happen," he said.
Trump's remarks came on the same day that Zelensky accused Putin of “nuclear terrorism” and warned that Russian military activity near Chernobyl risked repeating the worst nuclear disaster in Europe's history.
North Korea acknowledges war dead with memorial to soldiers killed in Ukraine
Monday 27 April 2026 15:00 , James ReynoldsNorth Korea has opened a memorial museum for its soldiers killed while fighting for Russia against Ukraine, with top leaders of North Korea and Russia pledging a push for greater cooperation.
In April 2025, North Korea and Russia announced that their soldiers fought together to repel a Ukraine incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region.
The two countries haven’t disclosed how many North Koreans soldiers were deployed, but South Korea’s intelligence service estimated North Korea sent about 15,000 troops and 2,000 of them were killed.
Read the full story:
North Korea opens memorial museum for troops killed in Russia-Ukraine war
In focus: Ukraine’s land robots are revolutionising the shapeshifting war with Russia
Monday 27 April 2026 14:30 , James ReynoldsMore than four years into Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces are driving up their use of land robots. Troops who use them and engineers who produce them tell Alex Croft that the future of war has already arrived:
Ukrainian robots are revolutionising the shapeshifting war with Russia
Ukraine evacuates 77-year-old woman from frontline town 'under constant fire' with ground drone
Monday 27 April 2026 14:00 , James ReynoldsAn elderly woman trapped on the frontlines of Ukraine was rescued by a drone on a heroic recovery mission, according to soldiers.
Video shared by the Third Army Corps on Telegram shows an unmanned ground drone arriving to pick the pensioner up on a road under fire in Lyman, eastern Ukraine.
“With no hope of survival, she walked through shell craters and the bodies of fellow villagers — until a robot arrived for her,” the corps said.
They said the robot was covered in a blanket so as to not scare her, and had attached a note that read: “Grandma, sit down!”
The 60th Motorized Rifle Brigade led the four-hour operation to rescue four civilians in the area, they said.
From battlefield tool to rescue mission. @ab3army defenders used a ground robot to pull a 77-year-old woman out of a frontline danger zone. War tech saving lives.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 27, 2026
📹: @United24media pic.twitter.com/eOQyQqtmnP
In focus: Britain is losing its hybrid war with Russia and is unprepared for conflict, warns top former US aide
Monday 27 April 2026 13:30 , James ReynoldsExclusive: Ex-government advisor and White House aide Fiona Hill leads a growing chorus of experts warning that the UK has no capacity to survive an escalation of a hybrid attack from Vladimir Putin let alone a full-scale global conflict, reports world affairs editor Sam Kiley:
Britain is losing hybrid war with Russia and cannot cope with conflict, warns ex-aide
Watch: Zelensky accuses Russia of attacking nuclear plant on 40th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster
Monday 27 April 2026 13:00 , James ReynoldsIn pictures: Devastation wrought by Russian drone strike on Odesa
Monday 27 April 2026 12:00 , James Reynolds
Russia claims nuclear plant worker killed in Ukrainian drone strike
Monday 27 April 2026 11:07 , Arpan RaiAn employee of the transport unit at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – which is occupied by Russian forces – was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack, the Russian-installed management of the station said in a Telegram post today.
"A driver was killed today when a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone struck the transport department at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," the post said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said its team on the site will look into the incident and continue to monitor the situation.
IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi reiterated that strikes on or near nuclear power plants "can endanger nuclear safety and must not take place".
Trump says hatred between Putin and Zelensky 'ridiculous' as he confirms he speaks to both
Monday 27 April 2026 11:02 , Arpan RaiUS president Donald Trump said on Sunday he has "good conversations" with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as he aims to settle the Ukraine war.
"We're working on the Russia situation, Russia and Ukraine, and hopefully we're going to get it," Trump said in an interview on Fox News' "The Sunday Briefing."
Trump said he did not want to reveal when he had last spoken with Putin.
"I do have conversations with him, and I do have conversations with president Zelensky, and good conversations," he said, not specifying when calls with either leader had been held.
"The hatred between president Putin and president Zelensky is ridiculous. It's crazy. And hate is a bad thing. Hate is a bad thing when you're trying to settle something, but it'll happen," he said.
Trump had vowed to end the war that began with a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but more than a year into his second term, the conflict continues.
UN nuclear watchdog raises concerns on Chernobyl anniversary
Monday 27 April 2026 10:55 , Arpan RaiRafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has echoed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's concerns over Chernobyl during a visit to Kyiv, saying repairs to the plant's damaged outer protective shell must begin immediately.
IAEA assessments show the damage sustained after a strike last year has already compromised a key safety function of the structure, he said, warning that years of inaction could heighten danger to the original sarcophagus beneath it.
The UN nuclear watchdog chief took part in the opening of a new permanent exhibition at the National Chernobyl museum with Zelensky.
Finnish leader says Putin failed in his war on Ukraine: 'losing 35,000 soldiers a month’
Monday 27 April 2026 10:30 , Arpan RaiRussian president Vladimir Putin is failing in his war on Ukraine and has suffered four times more military personnel losses, Finland’s president Alexander Stubb has said, in a rare disclosure of casualties of the conflict.
"How much of a better place Ukraine is in today than they were a year ago? In the past four months – and sorry for being morbid – Ukraine has killed or wounded between 30 to 35,000 Russian soldiers per month," the Finnish president said.
He added that Putin has failed to achieve his goals in the war and Russia is no longer de facto acquiring territory in Ukraine any more.
Russia is losing five Russians for one Ukrainian killed, Stubb said, adding that the 95 per cent strikes are being carried out using drones.
At least 16 killed in strikes across Ukraine and Russia on Chernobyl anniversary
Monday 27 April 2026 10:03 , Arpan RaiAt least 16 people have been killed in strikes over the weekend across Ukraine, Russian-occupied territory and Russia, local authorities said.
The death toll from Russian drone and missile strikes on the city of Dnipro rose to nine, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said Sunday.
One man was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on the port city of Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea, Moscow-installed authorities said yesterday. Russia illegally annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, and has used it as a staging and supply point during the war.
Leonid Pasechnik, the Russia-installed governor in Ukraine’s Luhansk region – of which Russia earlier this month said it had taken full control, a claim denied by Ukraine – said three people were killed in an overnight Ukrainian drone strike on a village, after reporting two people were killed in the early hours of Saturday.
At least 16 dead in strikes as Chernobyl anniversary highlights nuclear risks of war
North Korea's Kim Jong Un vows to continue support for Russia
Monday 27 April 2026 09:33 , Arpan RaiNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would continue to support Russia's policies and discussed bolstering military ties with Moscow.
Kim was speaking at a memorial to North Korean soldiers killed fighting for Russia in the Ukraine war.
He claimed the two countries' forces had "wiped out the aggressors," adding that this had thwarted what he described as "the United States' and the West's hegemonic ambitions and military adventurism", state media KCNA said.
"The North Korean government would continue to fully support Russia's policies of defending its sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests," Kim said, according to KCNA. Russia and North Korea 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.The ceremony on Monday was attended by a Russian delegation including defence minister Andrei Belousov.
North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 troops to fight with Russian forces in Kursk. South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials said they suffered heavy casualties with more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers killed in the fighting.
