Orban meeting Putin in Moscow – DW – 11/28/2025

Blasts have shaken two tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet in the Black Sea near Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait, sparking fires on both vessels as rescue operations were launched.

Turkey’s Transport Ministry said the 274-meter (about 900-foot) Kairos suffered an explosion and caught fire in the Black Sea while traveling from Egypt to Russia.

The ministry said two fast rescue boats, a tugboat, and an emergency response vessel were dispatched immediately and all 25 crew members were safely evacuated.

Turkey’s Maritime Affairs Directorate said Kairos, bound for the Russian port of Novorossiysk, had reported “an external impact” that triggered a fire 28 nautical miles (just over 50 kilometers) off the Turkish coast.

The directorate said a second tanker, Virat, was reportedly struck about 35 nautical miles offshore, further east in the Black Sea, and that rescue teams and a commercial vessel were sent to assist.

It said heavy smoke had filled Virat’s engine room but all 20 personnel on board were in good condition.

LSEG data shows both Kairos and Virat are listed among the ships under sanctions imposed on Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Several ships have struck mines in the Black Sea in recent years, and drifting mines have been reported.

Andriy Yermak resigned as Ukrainian President’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff on Friday. 

Yermak’s resignation came just after his home, and reportedly his office, were searched as part of a corruption probe by authorities earlier in the day.

Read more about the resignation here.

Poland has detained two Ukrainians and three Belarusians on suspicion of carrying out assignments for foreign intelligence services, prosecutors have said, as Warsaw continues to warn of Russian efforts to unsettle states supporting Kyiv.

Officials said the group acted under direction in recent months, and that their alleged work included photographing sensitive sites.

Poland says it has faced arson attempts and cyberattacks as part of what it describes as a “hybrid war” waged by Russia to weaken backing for Ukraine. Moscow has denied those claims.

Prosecutors identified the suspects as Ukrainians Oleksandr S. and Sofia Ch., a minor, and Belarusians Viktoryia M., Anton M., and Uladzimir U. They said the individuals were detained on November 25 and 26 by police and security services.

According to investigators, the group allegedly photographed and transmitted images of critical infrastructure and locations important to national security throughout 2024 and early 2025.

“For these tasks, the suspects were paid in cryptocurrencies,” prosecutors said. Spying in Poland carries a sentence ranging from 5 to 30 years in prison.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been urging Belgium to agree to an EU plan that would use frozen Russian assets to help finance Ukraine.

The European Commission and several EU governments have been seeking to tap immobilised Russian central bank funds to secure loans for Kyiv, while Belgium — home to the Euroclear finance depository — has warned that the move could trigger severe legal and financial retaliation from Moscow.

“We must do everything we can to bring this war to an end and the use of Russian assets is, in my opinion, an appropriate instrument,” said Merz at a press conference with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob.

He said he has been in contact with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and acknowledged Belgium’s concerns but stressed that both sides share the same objective.

“We are looking for a joint solution with the Belgian state and also with Euroclear so that we can decide on this within the EU with the widest consensus possible,” said Merz.

EU leaders have proposed using the assets to extend a €140-billion (about $162-billion) loan to Kyiv to cover looming budget gaps. Of the roughly €235 billion frozen across the bloc, about €210 billion are held at Euroclear.

Merz underscored the need to keep “maximum pressure” on Russia and dismissed Moscow’s warnings of retaliatory measures, describing them as a recurring pattern that would not influence EU decisions.

In a secret Brussels workshop, volunteers make drones and camouflage nets for Ukraine’s front line. The effort provides material and moral support for Ukrainian soldiers battling Russia’s invasion.

Watch the video below.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has again invited Moscow and Washington to hold a Russia-US summit in Budapest, a proposal he restated Friday during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Putin thanked him and said US President Donald Trump recently raised the possibility of a meeting, adding that he would be ready to attend if negotiations aimed at ending the war against Ukraine produce suitable progress.

Trump had scrapped the earlier Budapest summit plan weeks ago, saying there was no prospect of a breakthrough.

Orban praised Trump’s latest push for peace talks. The Kremlin said US envoys are scheduled to meet Russian counterparts in Moscow next week.

The Hungarian prime minister had quickly backed the 28-point US-supported peace plan unveiled last week, even as many critics argued it tilted too far toward Moscow.

The plan has since been adjusted in US talks with European and Ukrainian officials. Orban earlier claimed the EU had “sabotaged” the original proposal to prolong the war.

Speculation had grown for days over whether Orban would travel to Moscow, underscoring his reputation as one of the EU’s closest figures to the Kremlin during the war.

A Ukrainian suspected of coordinating the Nord Stream pipeline attacks in 2022 has been remanded in custody in Germany, following his extradition from Italy.

The suspect, identified under German privacy laws only as Serhii K., was ordered into pre-trial detention by a judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, according to a spokeswoman from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

The Ukrainian man was arrested in Italy’s Rimini in August on a European warrant, while on holiday with his family on the Adriatic coast.

Italy’s supreme court, last week, authorized his extradition and he was handed over to German authorities on Thursday.

The charges against him include collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of important structures.

The European Union said a high-profile corruption probe in Ukraine showed the extent to which anti-graft agencies were working.

“We have a lot of respect for those investigations which show that the anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine are doing their work,” European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said.

The comments came after investigators conducted searches targeting President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top aide, Andriy Yermak.

He leads Kyiv’s negotiating team that is trying to hash out a peace deal after the US presented a draft largely favoring Moscow.

Yermak confirmed his apartment was being searched and said he was fully cooperating.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said the searches had been “authorized” and were linked to an unspecified investigation.

A meeting between Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has gotten underway in the Kremlin.

Orban is considered Putin’s closest partner among European Union leaders.

Putin hailed what he called Orban’s “balanced position” on Ukraine.

“I know your balanced position on the Ukrainian issue,” Putin told Orban, who has attempted to block European sanctions against Moscow and criticised aid to Ukraine.

The Hungarian leader earlier said he was heading to Moscow to ensure his country got energy at affordable prices.

“I would like to reiterate that energy supplies from Russia form the basis of Hungary’s energy supply now and will remain so in the future” Orban said, sitting alongside Putin.

Hungary is one of only a few EU countries continuing to import large quantities of Russian fossil fuels, and has opposed efforts by the EU to wean its 27 member states off of Russian energy supplies.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has again expressed concerns about an EU proposal to use frozen Russian state assets in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Last month, the EU sought to utilize the frozen assets as a €140 “reparations loan” for Ukraine, as it fends off the Russian invasion. 

De Wever put the brakes on the plan, as the Russian assets are held in Belgium. De Wever believes that Belgium could be forced to pay back money to Russia in the event of a lawsuit from Moscow. 

In the letter, seen by media outlets including Financial Times and Reuters, De Wever said the frozen assets proposal could harm efforts to reach a peace deal in Ukraine. 

“Hastily moving forward on the proposed reparations loan scheme would have, as collateral damage, that we as EU are effectively preventing an eventual peace deal,” De Wever said.  

De Wever said the “proposed reparations loan scheme is in my view fundamentally wrong.”   

“Such assets have been the object of decisions during after-war settlements, usually in the context of war reparations by the losing party,” the Belgian premier added. 

The European Commission is expected to try address Belgium’s concerns about the frozen assets scheme this week in a new proposal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India next week on December 4 and 5. Putin’s state visit comes at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The Kremlin said politics, trade and “current global and regional matters” will be on the agenda.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said Putin’s visit will “set the vision for strengthening the ‘special and privileged strategic partnership'” between the two countries.  

In addition to talks with a delegation led by Modi, Putin will hold a separate meeting with Indian President Droupadi Murmu. 

India has kept friendly ties with Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine and maintained a neutral stance on the conflict. 

India has purchased Russian energy supplies at steep discounts amid the invasion. The purchases have prompted backlash from US President Donald Trump, with his administration slapping tariffs on Indian goods as punishment for the Russian energy purchases. 

The Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) is conducting searches at the office of top Ukrainian official Andriy Yermak, who serves as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff.     

“The investigative actions are authorized and are being carried out as part of the investigation. Details to follow,” NABU said. 

Yermak confirmed the search and said he is fully cooperating with investigators. 

Yermak faces a probe by the NABU over a corruption scandal regarding the Ukrainian state nuclear power company, Energoatom. Ukrainian officials are accused of coercing Energoatom contractors into paying 10% to 15% kickbacks on contracts.   

Timur Mindich was reportedly the ringleader in the $100 million (€86 million) embezzlement scheme. Mindich is a film producer and entrepreneur who is close to Zelenskyy.

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has also been implicated in the corruption scandal. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is heading to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on crude oil and gas supplies for Hungary. Orban said he also intended to address peace efforts in Ukraine.

Orban remains Putin’s closest ally in the 27-member European Union despite the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago. Hungary is reliant on Russian energy. Despite EU efforts to cut dependence, nearly 19% of the bloc’s gas imports came from Russia in 2025.

“Energy security and affordable, low energy prices in the winter in Hungary,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “That’s why we went to Washington, and that’s why I’m going to Moscow now.”

Asked if peace efforts in Ukraine would also come up, Orban said, “We can hardly avoid that.”

Orban has previously said he wants to revive plans for a”peace summit” in Budapest between US President Donald Trump and Putin on Ukraine, which was shelved this year as fighting continued.

In contrast to most NATO and European Union leaders, Orban has kept up cordial relations with Russia while questioning the logic of Western military aid for Kyiv.

Hungary has imported 8.5 million tons of crude oil and more than 7 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia this year, its Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Thanks for joining us today as we bring you the latest news regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine.

International efforts continue attempts to reach an agreement that would end Russia’s war in Ukraine with a US delegation due for talks in Russia next week.

But before then, Viktor Orban, the prime minister of EU member Hungary, is traveling Friday to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.