Ukraine-Russia conflict newest: Drone strike on market kills 5 as Zelensky fears shedding Trump help as a consequence of Middle East battle | EUROtoday

Slovak prime minister Robert Fico has referred to as on the European Union to finish sanctions on Russian oil and fuel imports and restore flows by the Druzhba pipeline, arguing the bloc wants to attract on all obtainable vitality sources to deal with the provision disaster triggered by the US-Iran conflict.

Fico made the decision in a press release after a name with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán on Saturday, saying the EU ought to renew dialogue with Russia and guarantee member states may entry fuel and oil from all sources, together with Russian ones. “It is not enough to deal with the energy crisis only at the national level,” he mentioned.

Hungary and Slovakia are outliers within the EU for sustaining relations with Moscow, and have been the one two member states nonetheless importing Russian oil when a Russian drone strike hit pipeline gear in Ukraine in January, disrupting Druzhba flows. Budapest and Bratislava have accused Ukraine of intentionally delaying repairs to renew the pipeline, triggering a political dispute that has seen Hungary block an EU mortgage to Kyiv. Ukraine says it’s fixing the harm as rapidly as doable.

Oil costs have surged since US and Israeli strikes on Iran started on 28 February, creating what the International Energy Agency referred to as the most important oil provide disruption in historical past. The EU had minimize Russian oil imports to only one per cent of its complete provide by the ultimate quarter of 2025 following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

A Ukrainian drone strike has broken an oil pipeline at Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, native governor Alexander Drozdenko mentioned on Sunday.

No accidents have been reported.

The pipeline was shut down and a fireplace was safely burning out, Drozdenko mentioned on Telegram. Ukraine has stepped up assaults on Russia’s Baltic Sea ports over the previous month.

Ukrainian troopers deployed a firefighting robotic to extinguish a blaze within the Kramatorsk area following a Russian strike on a home.

After discovering that fuel canisters have been saved on the scene of the fireplace, the fireplace brigade determined to make use of the robotic to forestall placing troopers at additional threat.

“With its help, the fire was extinguished and prevented from spreading to neighbouring homes,” the brigade mentioned.

“Ukrainian [ground robots] prove their uniqueness and effectiveness not only on the battlefield, but also in civilian life.”

The “Zmiy Firefighting” floor robotic programs are created by Ukrainian defence tech firm RoverTech and are designed to function in high-risk environments.

The system will be remotely managed at distances of as much as 3,000 meters, in keeping with the corporate.

Ukraine has introduced again eight youngsters and youngsters from occupied territories, a Ukrainian humanitarian NGO has introduced.

Mykola Kuleba, the founding father of Save Ukraine, mentioned that they had all been dwelling in circumstances of stress and concern, and their lives have been underneath fixed risk.

One 14 yr previous, Zoryana, was amongst these rescued. Mr Kuleba mentioned she had been separated from her father by Russians, who was stripped of his paperwork and deported.

The lady was pressured to check in a Russian faculty, the place she was instructed concerning the greatness of Russia and taught to make use of weapons, he mentioned.

Mr Kuleba wrote: “They are all in our Hope and Recovery centers and are receiving psychological support, documentation assistance, housing, and care — everything to help them regain a sense of security and start building a future.

“But thousands of children still remain under occupation. They are forced to be silent, conformed, and prepared for war. But we are not stopping.”

This recruitment drive is additional evidenced by paperwork indicating that firms in Russia’s central Ryazan area have been given quotas to enlist staff for the military.

Top officers additionally deny any scarcity of recruits, regardless of Ukrainian claims – dismissed by Moscow – that Kyiv is eliminating Russian troops quicker than they are often changed.

Ukraine mentioned three girls and two males have been killed in a Russian drone assault on a market within the metropolis of Nikopol within the Dnipropetrovsk area.

Another 19 folks have been injured within the assault, the prosecutor normal’s workplace mentioned.

A strike additionally wounded 11 folks within the metropolis of Sumy, not removed from the border with Russia.

Nearly 34,000 Russian troopers have been killed or significantly wounded in March, the best degree because the begin of the conflict, in keeping with Volodymyr Zelensky.

Another 1,363 Russians have been “eliminated” in artillery and different strikes over the month, bringing Russian losses to greater than 35,000 in March.

“Importantly, the results in the destruction of Russia’s air defence systems have also significantly increased, with 274 such systems hit in March alone,” Ukraine’s chief wrote on social media.

“There have also been tangible results in the destruction of Russian depots and military logistics. The Ministry of Defence, together with the Armed Forces, will present a detailed report to the public for March – data that may be made public.”