Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump’s team set to hold peace talks in Kyiv and Moscow, says Zelensky

Finland has said it is investigating whether a surveillance drone on the shore of its south coast has violated the Nordic country’s territory.

An investigation launched by the Border Guard authority seeks to determine where, when and how the aircraft entered Finnish territory and how it possibly crossed Finland’s border.

Preliminary examination suggests the aircraft is a Geoscan 701 type drone, which is used by both state and civilian actors.

European country’s have repeatedly alleged drone incursions related to the Russia-Ukraine war in the past year, but the Border Guard said it could not confirm the drone’s origin, operator or purpose at this stage.

The drone was intended for surveying and mapping and did not pose a danger to the public, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.

Eighteen years before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, the then German chancellor Gerhard Schröder was asked for his opinion on President Vladimir Putin.

“I am thoroughly convinced that the Russian president wants to transform Russia into a democracy and that he is doing so out of a deeply held conviction,” he said in 2004. That same year, Putin was re-elected by a landslide in an election widely regarded as a sham.

His comments underlined a spirit of cooperation and friendship that had grown between the two countries since the end of World War Two. Germany’s economy hugely benefited from imports of cheap Russian gas, culminating in the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

That relationship has now hit an all-time low. On Wednesday, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, threatened Germany with direct military strikes in response to Berlin’s claim that Russia was behind a failed explosive drone attack at Leipzig Airport last month. The drone, which was laden with explosives, failed to detonate near a Ukrainian cargo plane.

Suha Kidwai delves into the relationship between Russia and Germany:

Two police officers have been killed in a Russian attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region, local authorities have said.

Another officer was injured in the drone strike on the Pavlohrad district.

“Two people died . One more person was injured. The enemy attacked 2 districts of the region with drones and artillery more than 10 times,” said Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.

“The enemy targeted the Bohdanivka hromada [administrative area] in the Pavlohrad district.

“A fire broke out and a car was damaged. Two police officers were killed. Another is in hospital in a critical condition.”

Russia attacked energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region overnight, Ukraine’s energy ministry said on Friday, warning of possible network restrictions.

Odesa governor Oleh Kiper said earlier that one person had been killed and at least five injured in the attack.

In recent weeks, Russia has been actively attacking the Odesa region, focusing on port and energy infrastructure.

The motives behind Russia’s recent hybrid attacks on Germany are partly strategic, with Moscow seeking to exploit divisions in Germany over continuing support for Kyiv, explains Ian Bond, the deputy director of The Centre for European Reform (CER),

State elections are coming up in Germany where the far-right, pro-Russia party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) are topping the polls.

“With these attacks, it seems like Putin is trying to scare Germans into voting for a party who can show that they won’t have a problem with Russia,” he said.

Mr Bond said that voters opting for a party sympathetic to the Kremlin was a “puzzle” unique to Germany, that was not replicated in eastern European states.

But Putin’s targeting of Germany is not exceptional, cautioned Mr Bond.

Several states and institutions have been subject to the Kremlin’s aggression — including Poland and the Baltic states.

“Germany is bearing the brunt of recent attacks, but there is quite a lot of this going on,” he said.

“The message of this for the rest of Europe and NATO is that, while Russia may not be strong enough to launch direct attacks, it is doing everything it can to destabilise Europe, and try to scare away support for Ukraine.”

Mr Bond warned against potential German appeasement of Putin.

“Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last,” Mr Bond quoted. “Here, Putin is hoping that the rest of Europe will believe that if it feeds Ukraine to Russia — it’ll be the end of it all.”

The armed confrontation broke out between Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), and State Security Service (SBU), over the detention of Stepan Kaplunov — the deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC). Three officers were reported to have been injured.

The RVC is a paramilitary unit composed of anti-Kremlin dissidents fighting for Kyiv, and operates directly under Ukraine’s military intelligence services.

Russia’s defence ministry said Russian forces struck another cargo vessel at Ukraine’s Chornomorsk port, according to Interfax.

The ministry did not immediately provide further details on the vessel or the extent of any damage.

Norwegian authorities seized a Russian cruise ship in the Arctic on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, which is seeking to enforce a $4.22bn compensation award against Russia over assets seized when Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.

The 71-metre Professor Molchanov was seized late on Wednesday in Barentsburg, a Russian-operated coal-mining settlement on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago.

Russia condemned the seizure as an act of piracy and said it had summoned Norway’s ambassador to deliver a strong protest. Moscow said it would work to secure the vessel’s release.

“Russia cannot evade responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitral award,” said Naftogaz acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko.

Naftogaz has been pursuing compensation from Russia since 2016. An arbitration court in The Hague ordered Moscow in April 2023 to pay the company $4.22bn, plus interest and legal costs. Russia does not recognise the court’s jurisdiction and has refused to pay.

Norway said the seizure was a matter between Naftogaz and Russia and did not involve the Norwegian government.

The Professor Molchanov, built in Finland in 1982, is used for scientific expeditions and commercial cruises. It arrived in Barentsburg on Tuesday carrying a group of Russian scientists but was prevented from leaving the port after the seizure.

Naftogaz’s lawyers said they had been tracking the vessel for months and described the seizure as a significant victory in their efforts to recover the money.

“So we need to win another legal battle to be able to auction the vessel and get the money for our clients, which is the ultimate goal,” said Clovis Trevino, a partner at Covington, which represents Naftogaz.

Naftogaz said it would continue pursuing Russian assets in other countries until the compensation is paid. The company says the award, including interest and costs, now totals about $6bn.

Eighteen years before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, the then German chancellor Gerhard Schröder was asked for his opinion on President Vladimir Putin.

“I am thoroughly convinced that the Russian president wants to transform Russia into a democracy and that he is doing so out of a deeply held conviction,” he said in 2004. That same year, Putin was re-elected by a landslide in an election widely regarded as a sham.

His comments underlined a spirit of cooperation and friendship that had grown between the two countries since the end of World War Two. Germany’s economy hugely benefited from imports of cheap Russian gas, culminating in the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

That relationship has now hit an all-time low. On Wednesday, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, threatened Germany with direct military strikes in response to Berlin’s claim that Russia was behind a failed explosive drone attack at Leipzig Airport last month. The drone, which was laden with explosives, failed to detonate near a Ukrainian cargo plane.