Ukraine’s energy sector faces wide-scale investigation over ‘kickback’ allegations

Anti-corruption agency says state nuclear power operator Energoatom taking illicit payments of 10-15%

Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau said on Monday that it was conducting a large-scale investigation into the country’s energy sector, alleging kickbacks in transactions involving the state nuclear power operator, Energoatom.

The bureau, which operates independently of the government, alleged that several senior figures were involved. Ukrainian media identified one of them as Timur Mindich, a businessman and associate of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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‘Loophole’ in sanctions allowing Russian oil to be imported to Australia through port part-owned by Macquarie Bank

Australia stopped buying fuel directly from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine but has imported more than 3m tonnes of its oil products since 2023

Millions of tonnes of Russian oil have been traded through a port part-owned by Macquarie Bank and potentially sold on to Australian businesses, new data shows.

The identification of a new link between Australia and the trade in Russian-origin products exposes further gaps in government sanctions, as Australia lags behind the EU and the UK in tightening import rules.

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Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities kill at least seven

Volodymr Zelenskyy calls for more sanctions on Moscow after 45 missiles and 450 drones launched at Ukraine

Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least seven people and damaging energy infrastructure in three regions, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia had launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles, most of which were shot down.

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Ukraine faces ‘forever war’ unless Europe steps up pressure on Russia, says ex-Nato chief

Anders Fogh Rasmussen calls for air shield on Nato territory and deployment of European protection force for Ukraine

Ukraine is facing a “forever war” and a slow erosion of territory unless Europe dramatically increases pressure on Russia, including by deploying troops and establishing a missile and drone shield on Nato territory to protect Ukraine from Russian attacks on its infrastructure, a former Nato secretary general has said.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who held the Nato post from 2009 to 2014 and was the prime minister of Denmark from 2001 to 2009, said in an interview with the Guardian that if countries such as Poland agreed to host such air defences, Russia would understand that an attack on them would be an attack on the whole of the Nato alliance.

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British military announces first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles – eight years late

First 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, finally ready to deploy to Nato’s eastern flank, where drones now dominate

Britain’s military has announced the first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles, eight years behind schedule and amid questions about their relevance as cheap drones dominate the battlefields of Ukraine.

The junior defence minister Luke Pollard said the first 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, were ready to deploy on Nato’s eastern flank, though he acknowledged the problems of the past when delivery deadlines of 2017, 2020 and 2021 were all missed.

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Russian forces appear to tighten grip on strategic city of Pokrovsk

Military analysts say situation in Pokrovsk has deteriorated, while Kremlin says it plans to explore resumption of nuclear testing

Moscow’s forces appear to be tightening their grip on Pokrovsk, with street fighting raging across the ruined city in eastern Ukraine, as the Kremlin announced plans to explore the resumption of nuclear testing.

Ukraine’s general staff on Wednesday denied Russian claims that its troops had been encircled, saying efforts were under way to reinforce the flanks around Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad.

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Ukraine deploys special forces to Pokrovsk in effort to hold key city

Escalating battle for city comes as overnight Russian drone and missile strikes kill six people, including two children

Ukraine has deployed special forces to the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk in an attempt to push back an intense Russian assault involving thousands of troops, Kyiv’s top commander has said.

The escalating battle in the strategically important city comes as an overnight wave of Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine killed six people, including two children, and cut power to tens of thousands, officials said on Sunday.

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Russian drone attacks on civilians in Ukraine are war crimes, UN report concludes

Rights commission inquiry focused on south-east of country found drones targeted gathering points and critical infrastructure

A UN rights commission has concluded that Russia’s drone attacks on civilians in south-eastern Ukraine constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes.

In a report published this week, the commission said Russian forces, operating under a centralised command, had systematically used drones to “intentionally target civilians and civilian objects and cause harm and destruction”.

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Trump sanctions have swift impact but will world stop buying Russian oil and gas?

Analysts say president’s war on Russia’s fossil fuel revenues is a chance to bring peace to Ukraine and profit to US

Donald Trump’s stated mission to broker peace in Ukraine could come down to this simple question: can the US president convince the world to stop buying Russia’s fossil fuels?

Last week, Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to damage Moscow’s ability to fund its war machine.

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Russia arrests Ukrainian biologist for backing curbs on Antarctic krill fishing

‘Trumped-up’ charges spark diplomatic row as scientists express fears for health of 70-year-old Leonid Pshenichnov

A diplomatic row has erupted over the “illegal” detention of one of Ukraine’s scientists, who has been accused by the Kremlin of undermining Russia’s industrial trawling for krill in Antarctica.

Leonid Pshenichnov, 70, a Ukrainian biologist who is an expert on Antarctica, has a decades-long record of scientific research and contributions to conservation, including support for marine protected areas in the region.

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Russian drone attack on Kyiv leaves three people dead and dozens wounded, mayor says

Vitali Klitschko says six children hurt in overnight attack that sparked fires in apartment buildings

An overnight Russian drone attack on Kyiv killed three people and wounded dozens, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital has said.

The head of Kyiv’s military administration said early on Sunday that “several” Russian drones were operating over the city, and warned people to “remain in shelters”.

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At least four killed in Russian strikes overnight on Ukraine

Attacks come after Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeals to US for long-range missiles and urges allies to expand sanctions on Russian oil

Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight into Saturday killed at least four people and wounded 20, officials said, and prompted fresh pleas from Ukraine’s president for western air defence systems.

In the capital, Kyiv, two people were killed and 13 were wounded in a ballistic missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, Kyiv’s police said.

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Ukraine wants US to stay involved, says Zelenskyy after meeting western allies

Ukrainian leader joined ‘coalition of the willing’ in London to discuss how to ramp up pressure on Russia

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants the US to stay involved in efforts to end the war after a meeting of western allies in London that took place without Donald Trump.

The Ukrainian leader chose not to overtly lobby for the supply of US Tomahawk cruise missiles at a meeting of more than 20 mainly European leaders from the “coalition of the willing” but instead emphasised the need for the west to work together.

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Surprise sanctions look to have ended Trump and Putin’s Groundhog Day | Pjotr Sauer

His patience exhausted, the US president has taken action that could bite, but is unlikely to alter Moscow’s course in Ukraine

For once, a phone call with Vladimir Putin did not lead to a thaw.

By imposing sanctions on Russia this week, Donald Trump broke from his usual pattern of easing tensions with the Kremlin after conversations with the Russian leader, when threats of pressure often give way to talk of renewed dialogue.

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‘Sacred sanctuary’: North Korea starts building memorial to soldiers killed in Ukraine war

At least 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine

North Korea has begun constructing a memorial for its soldiers killed fighting in Russia’s war on Ukraine, state media reported, as leader Kim Jong-un hailed a “historic peak” in ties with Moscow.

The so-called Memorial Museum of Combat Feats will be built in the capital, Pyongyang, where Kim and Russia’s ambassador to North Korea attended a groundbreaking ceremony, according to a reports by the Korean Central News Agency on Thursday.

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Zelenskyy presses for EU decision on using frozen Russia assets to defend Ukraine

Ukrainian president says ‘time to act is now’ as Belgium seeks guarantees from other member states over loan plan

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged EU leaders to use Russia’s frozen assets to fund Ukraine’s defence “as soon as possible”, as summit talks on the issue of a reparations loan get bogged down.

Speaking to EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, Zelenskyy called for a decision to be made to use Russian assets fully to defend his country against Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

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US imposes sanctions on Russian oil over Putin’s ‘refusal’ to end war in Ukraine

Trump administration hardens stance against the Kremlin day after cancelling a planned summit with Russian leader

The US has sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil companies, as the Trump administration increased pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine.

The sanctions were the first against Russia since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, and were targeted to cut key revenues from oil sales that finance the Russian war machine.

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Russia and Ukraine trade missile attacks after Putin-Trump talks shelved – Europe live

Russian missile attack kills multiple people in Kyiv after Ukraine strikes a chemical plant making gunpowder, explosives and fuel in Bryansk

One of two Ukrainians detained for drug possession had shared photographs and coordinates of critical Polish army infrastructure with a Russian speaker, Polish prosecutors said on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

Poland says it has been targeted with tactics such as arson and cyber-attacks in a “hybrid war” waged by Russia to destabilise nations that support Kyiv in the Russian war in Ukraine. Moscow has denied such accusations.

Correspondence was revealed on a secured telephone belonging to Bohdan K, which shows that he had been providing a Russian-speaking person with photographs and geographical coordinates of critical infrastructure at the disposal of the armed forces of the Republic of Poland.

The suspect pleaded not guilty and expressed pro-Russian views and questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty.

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Children among six killed in Kyiv after Russian missile and drone attack

Explosions heard across Ukrainian capital after ballistic missile strikes, with further blasts reported in other regions

Russian drones and missiles have pounded the Ukrainian capital and other cities, killing six people including a six-month-old baby, a 12-year-old girl and a woman, and damaging key energy facilities and several high-rise residential buildings.

The attacks lasted most of Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning as Kyiv was hit by at least four ballistic missiles. A series of loud explosions could be heard across the city.

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UK peace force for Ukraine would cost ‘well over £100m’, says defence secretary

John Healey says he has already brought forward millions in spending for swift deployment if ceasefire agreed

The cost of Britain’s contribution to a post-ceasefire stabilisation force for Ukraine would be “well over £100m”, the defence secretary, John Healey, has said after a speech in the City of London.

Healey said he had already brought forward millions in spending so that a “multinational force Ukraine” led by the UK and France could be ready to deploy quickly if peace talks produce a ceasefire.

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