Ukraine-Russia war latest: Two dead in Russian strikes as Putin warns of massive retaliation for refinery attack

At least one crew member was killed after Russia attacked two vessels in the Black Sea, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksii Kuleba said.

“One crew member of a Panama-flagged ship was killed as a result of a Russian UAV attack on civilian vessels in the Black Sea,” he said on social media.

He added that two more sailors had been injured, one of them critically.

The minister said three other crew members on board a vessel sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis suffered injuries following a Russian attack.

“This is further proof that Russia is waging a war against freedom of navigation, international trade and global food security. Civilian crews, merchant vessels and maritime infrastructure that supports humanitarian and export routes are all under threat,” he added.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Europe's latest proposal for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv amounts to an ultimatum.

Lavrov argued that Moscow cannot negotiate based on EU’s earlier demands.“

Trust cannot be restored, nor can dialogue be resumed, through ultimatums such as the one issued to Russia in London,†he wrote in an op-ed his ministry said was prepared for Politico-Europe. The essay was later pulled from publication, Bloomberg reported.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that an escalation between Russia and Nato could lead to a nuclear strikes exchange with catastrophic consequences.

“A direct confrontation between Nato and Russia could rapidly escalate into an exchange of nuclear strikes, with catastrophic consequences,†he wrote in an article posted on the Russian foreign ministry's website.

“Under the banner of ‘strategic autonomy,' Europe is witnessing a significant build-up of its military capabilities, including in the nuclear sphere.

“Paris’s intention to extend its ‘nuclear umbrella' to several EU and NATO member states is a source of deep concern.

“This will do nothing to strengthen the security of France itself or the recipients of its so-called protection.â€

The EU leaders have agreed to extend sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine for another 12 months.

The decision was taken during a European Council summit in Brussels, which saw the participation of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.

The decision marked the first ‌time â such sanctions, which target certain sectors of the ​Russian ​economy, â have been renewed for ​a year. They ​had â previously been rolled over every â six ​months.

Latvian prime minister Andris Kulbergs has said there is no point in having diplomatic channels with Russia if Moscow doesn’t want to engage in diplomacy.

Kulbergs previously told Bloomberg that the EU needs to appoint an envoy for peace talks with Russia when the time is right as the bloc seeks to play a role in ending the war in Ukraine.

“Europe has to be at the table,†Kulbergs said, adding: “There should be one person if the peace talks are in place who has the political mandate to do that.”

Ukraine has won key pledges of further support for its fight against Russia from world leaders attending the Group of Seven summit in France, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

The leaders of the world's leading industrial economies promised to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses and ensure its energy supply, as well as step up international economic pressure on Moscow, as Kyiv's fight against Russia's all-out invasion stretches into its fifth year with no end in sight.

“The G7 Summit in France delivered important results for Ukraine. Most importantly, we agreed on additional strengthening of Ukraine's air defense,†Zelenskyy, who attended the gathering, said on X.

Belgium imported more natural gas from Russia in 2025 than it did before Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, data from the Belgian economy ministry showed.

Russian gas made up more than 11 per cent of Belgium's gas imports in 2025, climbing back to pre-war 2019 levels after dropping to around 5 per cent in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

While Belgium has phased out Russian pipeline gas, imports of Russian LNG have surged, offsetting much of the decline and driving a renewed rise in Russian gas imports.