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EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Kyiv Advances Without Trump’s Support

Monday’s Coverage: Russia and North Korea Declare “Long-Term” Military Cooperation

UPDATE 0852 GMT:

Ukrainian drones have struck the Tuapse oil refinery in southwest Russia for the third time in 12 days.

Tuapse, in Krasnodar Krai, is one of Russia’s 10 largest refineries, with a processing capacity of around 12 million tons of petroleum products per year. It was also hit on April 16 and April 20, the latter strike destroyed 24 storage tanks and damaging four. A fire set in the first attack was reignited by the second, with flames burning since then.

Videos shared by local residents this morning showed a large plume of smoke rising above the refinery. Rainfall left a black film on surfaces and dark puddles.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia is shipping stolen Ukrainian grain to Israel, says Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

Sybiha said on Monday that he summoned Israel’s ambassador over a shipment to an Israeli port wit grain farmed on Russian-occupied territory.

Kyiv said it informed Israel earlier this month that a Russian shipment delivered at Haifa contained grain from Ukrainian territory.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar criticized Sybiha for making the announcement but said, “The matter will be examined….Israel is a state that abides by the rule of law.”

From the outset of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia blockaded the Black Sea and Ukrainian ports. Kyiv broke the blockade in 2023, damaging or destroying 1/3 of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. However, Moscow has continued to export grain and goods from ports which it occupies.

The European Union found in 2024 that there was evidence Russia was “illegally appropriating large volumes of [cereals and grains] in territories of Ukraine, which it illegally occupies, and routing them to its export markets as allegedly Russian products”.