Latest Ukraine-Russia war: Moscow hits kyiv hospital as Zelensky says Starshield restrictions continue

The governor of Russia’s Samara region said Friday that Ukraine had struck an industrial facility there, killing four people.

In his statement on the Russian messenger MAX, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev did not name the struck facility or the weapons used by Ukraine.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday that Russia had no say in choosing the bloc’s representative in Ukraine-Russia peace talks, adding that she knew Moscow did not want her but was speaking on behalf of the 27 member states rather than in her personal capacity.

“They don’t want anyone strong on the other side because they want to assert their maximum demands,” she said, adding that a ceasefire must take precedence because broader discussions on the European security architecture risk distracting attention.

Russian authorities have announced that they have opened an investigation into the explosion of a car in Moscow which, according to Russian media, belonged to an exiled Ukrainian political adviser.

Russian media reported that the car belonged to Sergei Zavorotniy, a former spokesman for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who has lived in Russia since fleeing Ukraine amid anti-government protests in 2014.

Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Zavorotniy had been hospitalized. It is the latest in a series of apparent assassination attempts in Russia.

On Thursday, a Russian serviceman was killed after the car he was driving exploded in St. Petersburg, investigators said.

Russian negotiators have reportedly demanded that Finland leave NATO as part of a peace deal in new talks this week, the latest sign that Moscow remains unyielding over its hardline stance on Ukraine.

Moscow wants a “new European security order” as part of any deal to end the war, including the withdrawal of bases from the Baltic states and full control of Ukraine’s Donbass, German newspaper Bild reported on Friday.

And Ukraine should adopt non-aligned status and abandon all hopes of joining the NATO military alliance, the newspaper reports. Moldova would be transformed into a federal republic with Gagauzia and Transnistria, and both would be allowed to hold referendums on independence if the country joins the EU.

Ukraine has been trying for months to involve Europe in peace talks, but negotiations have so far focused on mediator Russia, Ukraine and the United States, accused of offering more concessions to Moscow.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Europe must show it is ready to contribute to peace before a decision is made on European participation in the negotiations.

Finland ended decades of military non-alignment to join NATO in April 2023, a year after Russia started war on its borders. The decision to join doubled the direct border of the military alliance with Russia.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz asked US President Donald Trump on Friday not to spring any surprises during talks on Ukraine planned for next week with Russian President Vladimir Putin in China.

“Some here in Dublin fear this could turn into a ‘second Anchorage moment,'” Merz said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU leaders.

“So I want to send our message very clearly to the United States: Please, no surprises. Keep playing in ‘Team Europe’ and ‘Team Ukraine’.”

The Ukrainian army announced Friday that it had struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in Volgograd overnight.

The General Staff said on Telegram that oil processing units, six tanks and other parts of the refinery complex were hit.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Europe must show it is ready to contribute to the Ukraine peace process before a decision is made on European participation in the negotiations.

The comment by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggests that Russia has not yet committed to including the Europeans in the next round of negotiations, although U.S. negotiators said Thursday that President Vladimir Putin had agreed to their participation.

The talks have so far involved Russian, Ukrainian and American officials, who met this week in Abu Dhabi for the first time in nine months. Two American envoys then traveled to Moscow to meet with Putin, then met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Dublin.

Asked whether peace talks would resume soon with the increased participation of Europeans, Peskov said: “Once we understand their true intention and willingness to contribute to the peace process, then it will be possible to make a decision on holding a dialogue on a Ukrainian settlement in an expanded format.”

Russian negotiators have reportedly demanded that Finland leave NATO as part of a peace deal in new talks this week, the latest sign that Moscow remains unyielding over its hardline stance on Ukraine.

Moscow wants a “new European security order” as part of any deal to end the war, including the withdrawal of bases from the Baltic states and full control of Ukraine’s Donbass, German newspaper Bild reported on Friday.

And Ukraine should adopt non-aligned status and abandon all hopes of joining the NATO military alliance, the newspaper reports. Moldova would be transformed into a federal republic with Gagauzia and Transnistria, and both would be allowed to hold referendums on independence if the country joins the EU.

Ukraine has been trying for months to involve Europe in peace talks, but negotiations have so far focused on mediator Russia, Ukraine and the United States, accused of offering more concessions to Moscow.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Europe must show it is ready to contribute to peace before a decision is made on European participation in the negotiations.

Finland ended decades of military non-alignment to join NATO in April 2023, a year after Russia started war on its borders. The decision to join doubled the direct border of the military alliance with Russia.

Nearly three in four Europeans support the creation of a European army, according to a new poll, as the United States considers a significant withdrawal of its forces from Europe.

The GLOBSEC Trends 2026 report, covering 14 countries, finds support for the united army is strong, while concerns also grow about how Russia’s war in Ukraine could continue to spread across Europe.

Europe will not turn its back on the NATO alliance, however, with around 78 percent of Europeans in favor of remaining in the alliance.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on Friday that the European Union representatives at the Russia-Ukraine peace talks could clearly be Council President Antonio Costa and foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

“If we have to say that Europe must be represented, then it is also clear that we have people who have an institutional responsibility to the people of Europe and also to our countries, that is Antonio Costa, but also the Commission and, for example, High Representative Kallas, so we have the people to do it,” he told reporters in Dublin ahead of the EU summit.