War

Russian raid on Kharkiv, France intercepts Moscow oil tanker. Kremlin: act of piracy

FT: Danish shipyard continues to provide maintenance for Russian ships. The window of opportunity for effective peace talks between Kiev and Moscow will remain open until the winter of 2026: so Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with CBS

1 June 2026aggiornato alle 12:15

foto simbolica di una petroliera IMAGOECONOMICA

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Russian troops carried out a raid on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight causing injuries and fires. This was stated by the mayor of the city, Igor Terekhov, who spoke of 'at least 10 enemy attacks'. Regional governor Oleg Synegubov spoke of the wounding of a 34-year-old woman.

Macron: 'Russian oil tanker intercepted, unacceptable circumvention of sanctions'

"The national navy intercepted yesterday morning a new oil tanker under international sanctions from Russia: the Tagor. Our determination is constant and total'. This was announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in a post on X.

"This operation was conducted in the Atlantic, in international waters, with the support of several partners including the United Kingdom, in strict compliance with the law of the sea," added the French Head of State.

"It is unacceptable that ships circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea and finance the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years. These ships, which do not respect the most elementary rules of maritime navigation, are also a threat to the environment and to the safety of all".

Moscow: captain of ship intercepted by France is Russian

The Russian tanker is called Tagor and its captain is Russian. This was specified by the Russian embassy in Paris. "The embassy has officially asked the French authorities for information on the possible presence of Russian nationals" among the other crew members, but "no response has been received so far" from the foreign ministry, the diplomatic office stressed in a comment posted on its Telegram channel. "The embassy has not received any notification from the French authorities on the measures taken against this ship," the note adds.

Kremlin: seizure of oil tanker is an act of piracy

The Kremlin today condemned theseizure of an oil tanker in the Atlantic by France and other navies, calling it 'illegal' and likening it to an act of 'piracy'. "We consider these acts illegal, bordering on international piracy," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that "Russia is taking measures to ensure the safety of its cargo."

FT: Danish shipyard continues to supply maintenance to Russian ships

The Danish shipyard Fayard has continued to provide maintenance services to icebreaker-class liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, which are an essential export link from Russia's Yamal oil field, despite opposition from the Danish government and an impending EU ban on providing maritime services to Russian-linked ships. According to a report in the UK's Financial Times, Fayard is the only EU shipyard that continues to offer dry-dock services to Arc7-class ships, which depend on European yards for their technical expertise and proximity to major trade routes from Yamal in Siberia to ports in northwestern Europe.

An analysis by Urgewald, a non-governmental organisation, shows that six of the 15 icebreakers in the Arc7 fleet are expected to undergo repairs at the Danish shipyard this summer, before an EU ban on LNG ship services to Russia comes into force, scheduled for 2027.

Zelensky, "limited time window for negotiations with Russia"

The window of opportunity for effective peace talks between Kiev and Moscow will remain open until the winter of 2026. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with CBS. By resuming the battlefield initiative in December 2025, Ukraine was in a better position to negotiate with Russia, the head of state explained. This window of opportunity will last until next winter, when Moscow is expected to strike Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure again. The Ukrainian president said he had informed Kiev's US partners, who mediated in talks with the Kremlin, of this diplomatic opportunity. "It started in December 2025, when Russia began to lose the initiative on the battlefield," Zelensky said. "I shared this information with our American partners. I told them in January that, in my opinion, we have a window of opportunity for negotiations, because every month they will lose more and more people.... So now we have this period of time before winter. So I think in winter - before winter - we have to find a way, a diplomatic way, to sit down and talk."

As far as European negotiators with Russia are concerned, 'we have an inter-country format', i.e. 'the UK, France and Germany. These three countries can be, I think, the negotiators," Zelensky explained when interviewed by CBS. "We also have good partners in the Nordic countries, and Turkey has always wanted to be a mediator, and we made positive steps forward when we brought home our prisoners of war. That is also very important," he added. "It is up to Ukraine and Europe to decide who it will be, and it is also important that Russia is ready to talk, to dialogue and to cooperate with Europe," he concluded.