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Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries over the last two years, but has visibly widened its campaign in recent weeks
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Ukrainian drones have struck a Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker in the Mediterranean for the first time, an official said on Friday as Kyiv ramps up its attacks on Russian oil shipping.
The Qendil tanker sustained critical damage from the strikes in neutral waters off the coast of Libya, more than 2,000km from Ukraine, the official from Ukraine’s SBU security service said.
“Russia used this tanker to circumvent sanctions and earn money that went to the war against Ukraine; therefore, from the point of view of international law and the laws and customs of war, this is an absolutely legitimate target for the SBU,” an SBU source said.
Russia’s “shadow fleet” of unregulated ships has been a thorn in the side of Kyiv, allowing Russia to export large quantities of oil and fund its invasion despite Western sanctions.
The unprecedented strike came a day after Europe struck a late deal to provide Ukraine with a €90bn (£79bn) loan over two years – a boon for Kyiv’s ailing economy, but less than hoped as leaders failed to agree on the use of €210bn in frozen Russian assets held in the EU.
Russia carried out cyberattacks against infrastructure and websites in Denmark in 2024 and 2025, Danish authorities say in a new assessment published this week describing new cases not previously reported.
Moscow was responsible for “destructive and disruptive” cyberattacks on a Danish water utility company in 2024 and a series of denial of service attacks which overwhelmed Danish websites ahead of regional and local elections last month, Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service said in a statement Thursday. The water company said the attack caused pipes to burst, leaving homes temporarily without water.
Jan Hansen, the head of the Tureby Alkestrup Waterworks southwest of the capital Copenhagen, said his advice to other companies was not to cut costs on cybersecurity and to take out cyber insurance. The attack happened, he said, because the waterworks switched to cheaper cybersecurity, which was not as secure as that previously.
The Danish intelligence service said the attacks were part of Russia’s “hybrid war” against the West and an attempt to create instability. It said Moscow’s cyberattacks are part of a broader campaign to undermine and punish countries which support Ukraine. Russian hackers have previously been accused of carrying out hacks on other water facilities in Europe — including on a Norwegian dam where Norwegian authorities said hackers opened valves to allow water to pour out.
Torsten Schack Pedersen, Denmark’s minister of resilience and preparedness, said the attacks resulted in limited damage but had serious ramifications.
“It shows that there are forces capable of shutting down important parts of our society,” he said during a news conference Thursday, as reported by Danish broadcaster DR.
Schack Pedersen added that the cyberattacks show that Denmark is not sufficiently equipped to handle such situations, DR reported.
The attacks are among a growing number of incidents that Western officials say are part a campaign of sabotage and disruption across Europe masterminded by Russia. An Associated Press database has documented 147 incidents, including the two cases reported by Denmark this week.
European Union leaders have agreed to borrow cash to loan €90 billion to Ukraine to fund its war effort against Russia for the next two years – but failed to reach an agreement on the use of frozen Russian assets.
After talks ended in the early hours of Friday, EU summit chairman Antonio Costa told reporters: “We committed and we delivered”.
As part of the agreement, the €90bn loan will be backed by the EU budget rather than using frozen Russian assets, a plan which had sparked divisions within the bloc. Belgium, where the majority of the assets are held, had said the plan was legally and financially unworkable.
James C. Reynolds and Maira Butt explain why the EU could not strike a deal on the use of frozen Russian assets:
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is heading to Miami for a meeting with US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, a Russian source told Reuters.
“Three-way contacts with the Ukrainian side are not planned,” said the Russian source with direct knowledge of the visit, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said on Friday that talks in the United States with US and European negotiators on a settlement to the war with Russia had ended, with participants agreeing to continue their joint efforts.
“We agreed with our American partners on further steps and on continuing our joint work in the near future,” Umerov wrote on Telegram, adding that he had informed President Volodymyr Zelensky of the outcome of the talks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US diplomatic effort to end the Russia-Ukraine war will turn on identifying what compromises Moscow and Kyiv can accept.
“We’re trying to figure out what can Russia give and what do they expect to get and what can Ukraine get,” he said, emphasizing that any “negotiated settlement” requires sacrifices from both sides.
Rubio said that he, Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other top administration officials have invested considerable time pushing for answers, and “the decision will be up to Ukraine and up to Russia.”
Rubio was speaking to reporters for the first time since a Vanity Fair piece quoted him and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles suggesting that Trump does not think Putin would be satisfied with annexing only a part of Ukraine.
A Russian missile attack on port infrastructure around Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa killed seven people and injured about 15 late on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.
“In the late evening, Russia attacked port infrastructure in Odesa region with ballistic missiles,” Kuleba wrote on Telegram.
“According to preliminary information, seven people were killed. About 15 were injured and are receiving help.”
Rachel Reeves said the UK’s support for Ukraine remains “iron-clad” as she welcomed a European deal to provide billions more in financial support for Kyiv.
The European Council agreed on Thursday to provide an interest-free loan worth 90 billion euros (£78.8 billion) to support Ukraine’s military and economic needs over the next two years.
The Chancellor said she is “pleased” a deal had been reached, adding: “The UK’s support for Ukraine remains iron-clad.
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A Russian ballistic missile attack near Odesa killed seven people and injured around 15 late on Friday, deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.
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