Ukraine responds to Russia's attacks, and will keep doing so
Ukraine will persist retaliating against Russian energy infrastructure attacks, defying criticism from neighboring Slovakia and Hungary over disrupted oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline. Putin declares Western military personnel in Ukraine would become legitimate targets, escalating rhetoric around proposed international security guarantees involving thousands of troops post-war.
- Ukraine attacking the Druzhba pipeline, disrupting oil shipments to Slovakia and Hungary
- 26 countries pledged postwar security guarantees, potentially including thousands of international troops
- Putin declared Western troops in Ukraine would be 'legitimate targets' for Russian strikes
- €200 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets held in Belgium; seizure risks European financial instability
- Oscar Jenkins, 33-year-old Australian, sentenced to 13 years on mercenary charges after capture
Zelenskyy vows continued retaliation against Russian energy attacks despite regional pressure, while Putin warns Western troops in Ukraine would be legitimate targets. Diplomatic tensions rise as Slovakia and Hungary face oil disruptions.
On day 1,291 of Russia's war in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat down with Slovakia's prime minister, Robert Fico, in the border city of Uzhhorod and delivered a message that cut through weeks of mounting diplomatic friction: Ukraine would keep hitting Russian energy infrastructure, regardless of who complained. The attacks on the Druzhba pipeline—the artery carrying Russian oil through Ukrainian territory into Slovakia and Hungary—had disrupted supplies to both countries. Fico and his counterparts had made their displeasure known. Zelenskyy's response was unambiguous. "Ukraine responds to Russia's attacks on our energy facilities, and will keep doing so," he said at their joint news conference. He went further, urging Fico to sever his country's dependence on Russian oil altogether.
The tension between the two leaders was palpable. Fico, who had met with Vladimir Putin in China just days earlier, spoke of seeing a quick end to the war and hinted at a future normalization of relations with Moscow. "We are simply saying in advance what the possibilities are, where we will start talking again, what tasks we will do together," he said. But Zelenskyy and Fico, he admitted, held "different opinions" on how and when that might happen. The meeting illustrated a widening crack in the Western coalition supporting Ukraine—one where economic self-interest and diplomatic pragmatism were beginning to pull against the imperative of backing Kyiv's defense.
Meanwhile, the question of what comes after the fighting looms larger. Zelenskyy revealed that thousands of international troops could be deployed to Ukraine as part of security guarantees once the war ends. Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 countries had pledged to provide such guarantees, which could include an international military presence on land, at sea, and in the air. Some nations would offer support from outside Ukraine's borders—training, equipment, intelligence. "It is important that we are discussing all this," Zelenskyy said after meeting with European Council president António Costa. "It will definitely be in the thousands, not just a few."
Putin's response was swift and menacing. Speaking at an economic forum in Vladivostok on Friday, he declared that any Western troops deployed to Ukraine would be "legitimate targets" for Russian strikes. He framed the presence of foreign soldiers as a violation of Moscow's core security demands—the very demands that had animated Russian objections to NATO expansion for decades. "If some troops appear there, especially now, during military operations, we proceed from the fact that these will be legitimate targets for destruction," Putin said. The warning was unmistakable: the introduction of Western boots on the ground would be treated as an act of war.
Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, announced that Ukraine's allies were preparing fresh sanctions against Russia, part of a broader campaign to force Putin toward the negotiating table. "Mr Putin is the cause of this war. He's the reason for the killing—he is not going to dictate the terms of the peace," Carney said. But the mechanics of economic pressure were proving complicated. Belgium's foreign minister, Maxime Prévot, warned that seizing the €200 billion in Russian central bank assets frozen by the European Union could trigger a financial catastrophe. The vast majority of those assets sit in Euroclear, a Belgian institution. Confiscating them for political reasons, Prévot argued, risked destabilizing European financial markets, undermining the credibility of the euro, and setting off a cascade of economic damage across the continent. "For Belgium, confiscating Russian sovereign assets is not an option," he told the AFP.
Beyond the high-level diplomacy and strategic calculations, there remained the human wreckage of the war itself. Oscar Jenkins, a 33-year-old Australian citizen, had been captured while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces and sentenced to 13 years in prison on charges of being a "mercenary." Australia's Ukrainian community was now pressing their government to secure his inclusion in prisoner exchanges, fearing he would otherwise fade into obscurity as a forgotten captive. "Claiming that he is a mercenary is just a word game so that Russia can send a warning to other foreign soldiers who might want to join Ukraine's fight for freedom," a spokesperson for the Australian Ukrainian Congress said. The charge itself seemed designed less as a legal matter than as a message—a warning to anyone considering taking up arms for Ukraine that capture meant not prisoner-of-war status but criminal prosecution.
Citações Notáveis
Ukraine responds to Russia's attacks on our energy facilities, and will keep doing so.— President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
If some troops appear there, especially now, during military operations, we proceed from the fact that these will be legitimate targets for destruction.— President Vladimir Putin
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does Zelenskyy keep hitting the pipeline if it angers Slovakia and Hungary? Doesn't he need them as allies?
He's making a calculation that degrading Russian energy revenue matters more than keeping those particular neighbors happy. And he's right that Slovakia and Hungary have their own interests—they buy Russian oil. But he's also signaling that Ukraine won't be blackmailed into restraint.
What's the real significance of Putin calling Western troops "legitimate targets"?
It's not a new threat—it's a redefinition of the rules of engagement. He's saying that if the West puts soldiers on the ground, Russia will treat it as direct NATO involvement, not a peacekeeping mission. It changes the entire calculation for any country considering deployment.
So the security guarantees Macron is talking about—they might not actually include troops?
Exactly. That's why Zelenskyy emphasized "thousands." He's trying to lock in a commitment before the war ends, knowing that once it's over, Western appetite for risk will evaporate. But Putin's warning makes that harder to sell at home.
What about the frozen Russian assets? Why is Belgium blocking their seizure?
Because they're the custodian. If you break the rule that frozen assets can be seized for political reasons, you destroy the entire system that makes international finance stable. Every country with assets abroad becomes vulnerable. It's not about sympathy for Russia—it's about the architecture holding.
And Jenkins, the Australian soldier—is he actually a mercenary?
By Russia's definition, yes. By international law, probably not. But the label serves Russia's purpose: it lets them prosecute him as a criminal rather than treat him as a prisoner of war. It's a way of saying foreign fighters aren't protected.