Hungary’s Viktor Orban is in Moscow today for talks with Vladimir Putin on energy security and Ukraine. Elsewhere, the offices of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top aide have been searched by anti-corruption officials. Follow the latest.
Friday 28 November 2025 12:05, UK
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Our military analyst Michael Clarke is back for another instalment of his weekly Q&A this afternoon.
He’ll join our presenter Kamali Melbourne at 1pm, giving you plenty of time to send us any of your questions.
Since last week’s session, there have been more developments in the diplomatic sphere, with back and forth talks over a peace deal.
Whatever your question, get in touch using the box above and we’ll get through as many as we can.
German authorities have placed a Ukrainian man in custody on suspicion of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
Explosions damaged the pipelines between Germany and Russia in 2022.
An arrest warrant for Serhii K, 49, was issued by a federal court in Karlsruhe today.
The suspect was detained under a European arrest warrant in the Italian town of Rimini in August, and had fought attempts to transfer him to Germany.
What is suspect accused of?
Serhii K, who can’t be fully identified because of German privacy laws, faces charges of collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of important structures.
Prosecutors allege he was one of a group of people who placed explosives on the pipelines, and is believed to have been the coordinator.
Serhii K denies any role in damaging the pipelines.
The context
Undersea explosions on 26 September 2022 damaged pipelines that were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
It added to tensions over the war in Ukraine, with Moscow, Kyiv and even the US accused of being behind the blasts.
All three have denied responsibility.
From August: Watch Sky’s Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins explain what we know about the pipeline explosions after Serhii K’s arrest…
With Putin meeting with Hungary’s Viktor Orban today, it’s worth noting that Ukraine is also preparing for meetings with allies.
As we reported yesterday, the head of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidential office said Ukrainian and US delegations will hold talks at the end of this week.
Zelenskyy confirmed on social media that the meeting will take place, and “the Ukrainian delegation will be well prepared and focused on substantive work”.
“We remain in close contact with the American side and our European friends,” the Ukrainian president said on X.
“I am also briefing our partners in other parts of the world, and I am grateful to them for their support of our sovereignty and our state.”
Zelenskyy also said he was working in the meantime to ensure Ukraine has “sufficient defence support”.
We’re beginning to receive the first lines from Viktor Orban’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The Russian president is telling his Hungarian counterpart that he would be glad to choose Budapest as the venue for talks with Donald Trump on ending the war in Ukraine.
Putin and Trump agreed in October to meet in the Hungarian capital, but Trump then cancelled the meeting, saying he did not want it to be a waste of time.
We’ll bring you more from the talks as we get it.
Viktor Orban has arrived in Moscow ahead of his meeting with Vladimir Putin.
The Hungarian PM has been pictured arriving at the Kremlin and meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
We’ll bring you the latest updates from those talks as we get them.
The head of a Ukrainian non-governmental anti-corruption agency says that charges against Andriy Yermak could likely follow the searches at his home this morning.
Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre (AntAC), tells the Kyiv Independent that “usually searches are conducted right before charges are presented to possible suspects”.
“So therefore we can expect today or very soon charges against Andriy Yermak,” she adds.
Yermak has been accused of attempting to stifle anti-corruption investigations, but not of profiting from the alleged embezzlement scheme himself.
For context: AntAC is an independent non-governmental body advocating for anti-corruption reform.
It’s separate to NABU – the Ukrainian state institution co-leading the corruption investigation – and according to its website, is funded in part by the US government, EU member states, private funds and charity donations.
Earlier, we reported that explosions were heard overnight in the Russian cities of Taganrog, Saratov and Smolensk (see our 6.42am post).
The Ukrainian general staff is now confirming the locations hit in Russia overnight – including the Saratov oil refinery, drone storage at the Saky airfield in Novofedorivka, and other military facilities.
It says that enemy air defence systems were also destroyed at the Saky airfield – located in occupied Crimea.
Also struck overnight were fuel depots and “areas of enemy personnel concentration” in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The general staff have not yet confirmed the reported strikes on Taganrog and Smolensk – we’ll bring you updates as we get them.
It was “really only a matter of time” before Andriy Yermak was caught up in Ukraine’s anti-corruption scandal, security and defence editor Deborah Haynes says.
Speaking from Kyiv, she says the scandal – which has implicated several high-ranking officials and ministers – has “consumed” the country over the last two weeks.
Yermak, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top aide, had his home and offices searched by anti-corruption officers this morning. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing by officials.
“People had been anticipating that the investigation might reach his door, and that is what is happening today,” Haynes says.
“This is a very troubling turn and will be incredibly worrying for Zelenskyy, given right now he needs to look strong as he leads this country in this most difficult time.”
Rooted in the corruption scandal are allegations that money was diverted away from key infrastructure projects vital for safeguarding Ukrainian power supplies against Russian attacks.
Haynes adds that the idea that top officials are “allegedly getting rich off the back of the suffering of Ukraine” is a “particularly poisonous element to this scandal”.
“It is particularly painful for the people of Ukraine to hear about this scandal, given that this country right now is experiencing horrendous blackouts and has been ever since the start of the full-scale invasion.”
Russia wants to move towards peace in Ukraine despite its belief that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not a legitimate leader, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Vladimir Putin says he considers the Ukrainian leadership to be illegitimate because Zelenskyy’s elected term has expired.
Ukraine says it cannot hold new elections while under martial law as it defends its territory against Russia.
Peskov also confirmed that the US has handed over the parameters of the peace plan for Ukraine agreed with Kyiv in Geneva, which will be discussed next week during talks with the American delegation.
Vladimir Putin will visit India next week at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Kremlin has announced.
It will be the Russian leader’s first visit to the country since 2021.
The Kremlin says the visit, lasting from 4-5 December, “is of great importance, as it provides an opportunity to discuss the entire extensive scope of Russia-India special and privileged strategic partnership”.
Putin will meet with Modi and Indian President Droupadi Murmu, and a joint statement is expected to be made.
India’s foreign ministry adds in a statement that the trip will give New Delhi and Moscow a chance to “exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest”.
For context: India has been openly neutral throughout Russia’s war in Ukraine, calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
However, the country is still a major trading partner of Russia’s, with both nations being members of the BRICS trade group. India has also been hit with tariffs by the US for purchasing Russian oil and gas.
You can read more from our India correspondent Neville Lazarus on Modi’s relationship with Putin by clicking on the link below…
Andriy Yermak has confirmed Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies are conducting searches at his home.
“There are no obstacles for the investigators,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff wrote on X.
“They were provided with full access to the apartment, on site – my lawyers, who are interacting with the law enforcement officers. From my side – full cooperation.”
As a reminder, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau said it was conducting searches at Yermak’s property in connection to the corruption case involving state nuclear power monopoly Energoatom (see 7.13 post for more).
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