Russian authorities said one man was killed in a Ukrainian drone raid on city of Tuapse. Meanwhile, Russia arrested a German woman in an alleged bomb plot.
EU expects Druzhba oil pipeline, and Ukraine aid package, to go through by Wednesday
Operation of the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine, could resume as early as this week, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told the European Parliament on Monday.
Soon after, the Cypriot EU presidency said it planned to try to finalize a decision on Wednesday on the €90 billion (roughly $105 billion) loan for Ukraine that Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban vetoed last month, blaming the halt in oil deliveries.
Orban, who was defeated in parliamentary elections earlier this month, had accused Ukraine of blocking the resumption of Russian oil supplies via the pipeline for political reasons.
Ukraine, meanwhile, asserted that it had been damaged by Russian bombardment and that repairing it required time.
Landlocked Hungary and Slovakia are exempt from EU sanctions on Russian oil deliveries because of their high degree of dependence.
Bloomberg News meanwhile cited Ukrainian sources as saying deliveries could restart as soon as Tuesday.
Peter Magyar, Hungary’s incoming prime minister who defeated Orban, urged Kyiv to turn the taps back on if it was in a position to do so.
“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.”
Orban had said on Sunday that he had received an indication via Brussels that Kyiv was ready to resume supplies, and said Hungary would “no longer stand in the way of approving the loan” once “oil deliveries are restored.”
Germany summons Russian ambassador over strike threats
The German Foreign Ministry on Monday took to social media to announce its rejection of Russian threats over Germany’s support for Ukraine, noting that Berlin had summoned the Russian ambassador to address the issue.
Russia recently identified Germany and its defense industry contractors as potential targets of aggression, including hybrid measures, citing their collaborative relationship with Ukraine — which Russia has failed to overwhelm since launching its February 2022 invasion.
In a two-part statement on X, the Foreign Ministry pushed back, writing: “Russia’s direct threats against targets in Germany are an attempt to weaken our support for Ukraine and to test our unity.”
“Our response is clear,” the post continued, “We will not be intimidated. Such threats and all kinds of espionage activities in Germany are completely unacceptable. To this end, the Russian ambassador was summoned today.”
Ukrainian defense official survives Russian drone attack
Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, said on Monday that he had narrowly survived a Russian drone strike that hit his home.
Alongside a photo of himself in hospital, he said in a social media post that it was “a miracle” that he was not killed.
“Tonight the Russians tried to kill me,” he said on Facebook.” A guided jet-propelled Shahed hit the wall of my house. I no longer have a house. I was hit, but the main thing — I’m alive by a miracle. I was morally prepared for such a turn of events, and this will not stop me.”
Beskrestnov was appointed senior defense technology adviser to the defense minister in January.
Ukraine reports heavy fighting near Sumy border
Heavy clashes are ongoing in the border areas of Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast, according to Ukrainian officials.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, said Russian forces are infiltrating parts of the border region, triggering intense fighting.
In a post on his Telegram channel, Kovalenko said Russia was trying to take advantage of the spring weather but there was “no enemy breakthrough” He added that Ukrainian forces were “doing everything possible to prevent the enemy from expanding its presence in the Sumy region,” and that the enemy had “suffered significant losses.”
German woman arrested in Russia in alleged bomb plot
A 57-year-old German woman was detained by Russian authorities with a homemade bomb in her backpack, the Moscow’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said.
The FSB said the woman was arrested in the Caucasus city of Pyatigorsk with an improvised explosive device containing the equivalent of 1.5 kg of TNT in her backpack.
The agency described the development as a Ukrainian-backed false flag operation to attack a law enforcement facility in the southern Stavropol region.
It said a man from an unidentified Central Asian country was also detained and accused of coordinating the plan under instructions from Ukrainian intelligence.
“The actions of the man were coordinated by employees of the Ukrainian special services under the guise of members of one of the international terrorist organizations banned in Russia,” the FSB said.
Russian authorities said the device was intended to be detonated remotely, killing the German woman.
Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Tuapse port kills one
A Ukrainian drone attack killed at least one person and injured another in Russia’s port city of Tuapse early on Monday, regional authorities said.
This was the second strike on the city in less than a week.
Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of the Krasnodar region, said in a post on Telegram that a fire broke out at the port and debris damaged buildings including a school and kindergarten.
“Tuapse came under yet another massive drone attack tonight. As a result, one man was killed at the seaport, according to preliminary information. I extend my deepest condolences to his family,” Kondratiev said.
Another man was also wounded in the attack and received medical assistance, he said.
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-hits-russian-black-sea-port-city-1-dead/live-76854298
