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

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

The suspect, identified as Serhiy Kay, was ordered held in pre-trial detention by a judge at the Federal Court in Karlsruhe under German privacy laws, according to a spokesman for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

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

Italy’s Supreme Court approved his extradition last week and he was handed over to German authorities on Thursday.

The charges against him include collusion to carry out explosions, anti-constitutional subversion and destruction of vital structures.

The European Union said a high-profile corruption investigation in Ukraine has revealed the extent to which anti-corruption agencies are acting.

European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho said, “We greatly respect the investigations that show that anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine are doing their job.”

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

He leads Kiev’s negotiating team trying to hammer out a peace deal after the US sided with the draft largely in Moscow’s favor.

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

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said the search was “authorized” and linked to an unspecified investigation.

A meeting is underway between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.

Orban is considered Putin’s closest ally among EU leaders.

Putin praised Orbán’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 has criticized aid to Ukraine.

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

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

Hungary is one of the few EU countries that continues to import large quantities of Russian fossil fuels, and has opposed the efforts.
By the European Union to cut off its 27 member states from Russian energy supplies.

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

Last month, the EU sought to use frozen assets as a €140 “compensation loan” for Ukraine as it defends against Russian aggression.

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

The letter was 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.

De Wever said, “By moving hastily on the proposed reparations loan plan, as collateral damage, we as the EU are effectively blocking an eventual peace agreement.”

“The proposed repayment loan plan is fundamentally wrong in my view,” De Wever said.

The Belgian Prime Minister said, “Such assets have been the object of judgments during post-war settlements, usually in the context of war reparations by the losing party.”

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

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

The Kremlin said politics, business and “current global and regional affairs” would be on the agenda.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said Putin’s visit would “set the vision to strengthen the ‘special and privileged strategic partnership’ between the two countries”.

Apart from talks with the Modi-led delegation, Putin will also hold a separate meeting with Indian President Draupadi Murmu.

Despite the invasion of Ukraine, India has maintained friendly relations with Russia and maintained a neutral stance on the conflict.

Amid the invasion, India has purchased Russian energy supplies at a deep discount. The purchase has drawn a sharp reaction from US President Donald Trump, and his administration has imposed tariffs on Indian goods as punishment for Russian energy purchases.

The Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) is searching the office of top Ukrainian official Andriy Yermak, who serves as chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

NABU said, “The investigative action is authorized and is being conducted as part of the investigation. Details follow.”

Yermak confirmed the finding and said he was cooperating fully with investigators.

Yermak faces investigation by NABU over a corruption scandal regarding the Ukrainian state nuclear energy company, Energoatom. Ukrainian authorities are accused of forcing Energoatom contractors to pay 10% to 15% bribes on contracts.

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

Ukraine’s former Defense Minister Rustam 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 to Hungary. Orbán said he also intended to address peace efforts in Ukraine.

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

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

Asked whether there would also be peace efforts in Ukraine, Orbán said, “We can hardly avoid it.”

Orban had previously said he wanted to revive plans for a “peace summit” in Budapest between US President Donald Trump and Putin on Ukraine, which had been postponed this year as fighting continued.

Unlike most NATO and EU leaders, Orbán has maintained cordial relations with Russia while questioning the logic of Western military aid to Kiev.

Hungary has imported 8.5 million tonnes 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.

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

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

But before that, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of EU member Hungary is heading to Moscow on Friday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.