Russia war latest: Moscow threatens to attack Baltic countries allowing Kyiv to use airspace for drones

Ukrainian drones have attacked the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga
Moscow has threatened to attack countries in the Baltic that are allowing Ukraine to use their airspace to fly drones to attack Russia .

Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova spoke after Kyiv used drones to attack the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, which are key to Moscow’s oil exports.

“If third countries have provided or are providing their territory for enemy drones to fly over, they must fully understand – and we are confident they do, because it has been explained to them – the risks they are exposing themselves to,” she told reporters on Thursday.

Russian drones and aircraft have repeatedly violated European airspace, including fighter jet incursions into Estonia and unidentified drones flying over Copenhagen and Oslo airports.

Britain's defence minister John Healey said at a press conference that the UK had tracked Russian submarines in the north Atlantic for a month, which he said was a threat to British cables and pipelines.

Russian drones damaged a power substation in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region.

No injuries were reported in the attack, which targeted large private energy company DTEK.

Gulf crisis not distracting Britain from Russia, says Healey
“I’m pretty clear that Putin would want us to be distracted by the Middle East,” Healey says.

He says the recent actions show “we recognise Russia as the primary threat to the UK and to Nato” and “we will not take our eyes off Putin”, even while acting with allies in the Middle East
UK tracking Russian subs in north Atlantic as threats to undersea cables grow
Britain's defence minister John Healey says at a press conference that the UK had tracked Russian submarines in the north Atlantic for a month, which he said was a threat to British cables and pipelines.

He said the UK was confident that there was no evidence Russia had damaged any cables or pipelines.

He added that threats to undersea networks were increasing.

He said that he deployed the armed forces to track and deter any malign activity by these vessels.

Watch: Nato chief says Trump 'clearly disappointed' with US allies' refusal to join Iran war
Vance says Putin and Zelensky 'haggling over a few square kilometres'
US vice president JD Vance has accused Russia and Ukraine of holding out on a ceasefire for the sake of a small portion of territory.

Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged in combat along a frontline spanning over 1,200km (750 miles), four years after Vladimir Putin's invasion of his European neighbour.

"What I would say to both the Russians and the Ukrainians is, you know, we're talking about haggling at this point over a few square kilometres of territory in one direction or another.

Is that worth losing hundreds of thousands of additional Russian and Ukrainian young men?

Is that worth additional months or even years of higher energy prices and economic devastation?

We think the answer is clearly no," Vance said.

He added that "it takes two to tango" and the Russians and Ukrainians must reach an agreement themselves.

It's unclear how Vance reached the figures in his remarks.

Russia has demanded Ukraine give up the entirety of the Donbas region despite failing to take it by force, but Ukraine still controls around 20 per cent of Donetsk – roughly 5,300 square km or 2,000 square miles.

In March, Ukrainian forces recaptured nearly all the territory lost in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk industrial region, driving Russian troops out of more than 400 square kilometres (150 square miles).

Ukrainian drones attack Russia's oil pumping station in Krasnodar Krai
A Russian oil pumping station in Krymsk of Krasnodar Krai was hit by Ukrainian drones overnight, local reports said.

Krymsk is located in the east of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

According to the Telegram channel Astra, an electrical substation at the Krymskaya oil pumping station caught fire as a result of the strike.

Several explosions were heard during the drone attack, locals in the city said.

Local authorities are yet to confirm the drone attack.

Krasnodar Krai governor Veniamin Kondratyev instead reported that debris from a drone fell on a field in the suburbs of Krymsk and on the territory of an “enterprise”.

He also said one person was killed in the nearby village of Sauk-Dere.

Zelensky welcomes Iran de-escalation and says Ukraine ready for ceasefire
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he is welcoming the ceasefire between the US and Iran, adding that ⁠Kyiv was ready to "respond in kind" if Moscow ceased strikes.

"Ukraine has always called for a ceasefire in the war waged by Russia here in ⁠Europe against our ​state ⁠and our people, and we support the ceasefire in the Middle East and ⁠the Gulf that paves the way for ​diplomatic ⁠efforts," he wrote on ‌X.

"It is obvious to everyone that a ceasefire can create the right preconditions for ‌agreements," he added.

Ukraine had previously ‌praised US "decisiveness" in attacking Iran, which is a close ally of Russia and has supplied thousands of drones ⁠that have been used to hit Ukraine.

Kyiv has repeatedly called for Moscow to agree to a full ceasefire in its four-year war so that the two sides can negotiate a peace deal.

Russia says it wants ‌comprehensive terms for peace to be agreed ​before it stops fighting.

Vance accuses Zelensky of making 'scandalous' comments about Hungary's Orban
US vice president JD Vance has said Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky ⁠made "scandalous" comments about Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, as he echoed Budapest's accusations that Kyiv was using energy supplies to try to influence elections there.

In an effort to sway the ballot, Budapest has accused Kyiv of deliberately stopping flows of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline.

Kyiv says the pipeline was damaged by a Russian ​drone ⁠attack in late January and it is ‌fixing it as fast as it can.

Hungary responded by blocking a €90bn (£78.3bn) EU loan for Ukraine, prompting Zelensky to say he could give the address of whoever was responsible to ‌the Ukrainian army, who could "speak with him in their own ‌language".

Vance said Orban had told him about Zelensky's remarks.

"It's completely scandalous," Vance said.

"You should never have a foreign head of government...

threatening the head of government of an allied nation," without addressing the reports of Russian attack on the pipeline.

Vance's remarks came during a visit to Budapest aimed at boosting the chances of the nationalist Orban, who faces the toughest challenge of his 16-year rule in an 12 April election seen as ⁠crucial for the influence of supporters of Donald Trump's ​MAGA ⁠movement in Europe.

Watch: Vance accuses Kyiv and Moscow of ‘haggling over a few square kilometres’
Russia detains former Radio Free Europe journalist for 'treason'
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said they detained ⁠a former freelance journalist for Radio Free Europe in the ⁠city of Chita for treason, ⁠the state TASS news ⁠agency reported.

The ‌FSB said the man, whose name ‌was not disclosed, ‌was accused of treason for cooperating with ⁠Ukraine's SBU intelligence service.

There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.

The FSB said that the man ‌had supplied information via the Telegram ‌messaging ⁠service to the ⁠SBU, TASS reported.

Hungary's leaked audio with Russia shows 'betrayal' of EU solidarity, says French minister
Conversations between Hungary's foreign minister and his Russian counterpart were ⁠a "betrayal" of European Union solidarity, French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot ⁠said this morning.

A ⁠series of leaked conversations seemed ⁠to show how Hungarian ​prime ⁠minister Viktor ‌Orban's government and his foreign minister Peter Szijjarto ‌have worked ‌to serve Russian interests and undermine EU efforts ⁠to aid Ukraine.

"This is a betrayal of the essential solidarity required between the countries of the European ‌Union if ​we want to ‌be strong," Barrot ⁠said in an ⁠interview with French ‌radio ​station France Inter.

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