Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort, Palm Beach, Florida, December 28, 2025 (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Tuesday’s Coverage: EU to Unblock €90 Billion Loan to Kyiv on Wednesday

UPDATE 1922 GMT:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told reporters that he wants the renewal of Ukraine-Russia-US talks.

We’re ready for any format, at any time. We are not afraid to meet at any time in any country, except for Russia and Belarus — we would like to emphasize this once again. I am confident that the trilateral meeting should resume.

Zelensky said Ukrainian representatives continued discussions with US officials on Tuesday April 21, without providing details.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded that Vladimir Putin is willing to meet Zelensky, but only in Moscow.

UPDATE 1655 GMT:

The Financial Times reports that Russia is planning to halt the flow of oil from Kazakhstan to Germany through the Druzhba pipeline next month.

The Russians are targeting the PCK refinery, located about 100 km (62 miles) northeast of Berlin. The complex sits on the pipeline and supplies 90% of the petrol, kerosene and heating fuel to the German capital, its airport, and its surrounding region.

The plant’s operations were seized by the German state following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It has relied heavily on Kazakh crude since 2022.

Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said Russia has not included Druzhba volumes in the monthly schedule of supplies sent to Kazakhstan.

Akkenzhenov said the disruption may be due to technical problems amid Ukrainian drone attacks against Russia’s energy infrastructure. But a “senior Kazakh government official” said Moscow is trying to putting pressure on the EU and specifically on Germany, the largest arms supplier to Ukraine.

Kazakhstan started exporting oil via Druzhba in 2023. The Kazakh official said the initiative was pushed by Moscow, hoping to maintain influence over the refinery until Russia gets a chance to reinstate control over it.

UPDATE 1629 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has hosted Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles:

Zelensky has also hailed the start of the €90 billion European Union loan to Kyiv.

UPDATE 1619 GMT:

Four civilians were murdered and 79 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed or jammed 189 of 215 drones, including 140 Iran-type attack drones, launched by Russia overnight.

In the Sumy region, a 59-year-old man was killed and 31 people were wounded.

In the neighboring Kharkiv region, a 59-year-old man was slain and 20 people injured.

In the Zaporizhzhia region in the south, a railway engineer was murdered and eight wounded.

In the neighboring Kherson region, one civilian was killed and six injured.

Casualties were also reported in the Donetska and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

UPDATE 0836 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says the Druzhba pipeline, carrying Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, is ready to resume operations.

The pipeline was damaged by Russian drone attacks on western Ukraine in late January.

Last weekend, Hungary’s pro-Kremlin Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — whose 16-year rule is ending after elections earlier this month — said he was lifting his blockade of a €90 billion European Union loan to Ukraine. While incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar had already said Budapest’s objection would be removed, Orbán used the pretext that Kyiv had given reassurances about the reopening of the pipeline.

The EU is expected to confirm the loan, which meets Ukraine’s military and financial needs through 2027, on Wednesday.

Zelensky called on Europe to diversify energy supplies, reducing any reliance on Druzhba: “No one can currently guarantee that Russia will not repeat attacks on the pipeline infrastructure.”

Trying to ensure US support for a ceasefire of Russia’s invasion along current frontlines, Kyiv’s officials have half-jokingly suggested that part of eastern Ukraine could be renamed “DonnyLand” in honor of Donald Trump.

The “Donnyland” label merges the Donbas, referring to the Donetsk and Luhansk region; Donald; and Disneyland. It was mentioned in Ukraine-Russia-US talks, now suspended by the US-Israel Wars on Iran and Lebanon.

“DonnyLand” would include about 2,000 square miles in the northwest of Ukraine-held Donetsk. Negotiators reportedly suggested that Trump’s “Board of Peace”, which does not include Ukraine or Russia, could help administer the area.

The proposal is not in any official documents.

Despite years of offensives with heavy casualties, Russia has failed to conquer around 20% of Donetsk, included the heavily-fortified area. Ukraine is refusing to surrender the territory, seen as a “highway to Kyiv” in any future Russian invasion. However, Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, has supported the Kremlin’s attempts to seize the area through Kyiv’s capitulation in discussions.