South Korea's foreign ministry has expressed concerns to the Russian embassy in Seoul over a large banner hung over its building that reads 'victory will be ours' in Russian, the Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday. The ministry noted the unnecessary tensions the banner could create with South Korean citizens and other countries, as it was widely seen as a reference to Russia's war in Ukraine. The Russian embassy had yet to remove the banner, which features a message used by the Soviet Union during the Second World War.
Russian strikes killed three people and wounded several others overnight on Monday, as Moscow continued its assault on the eve of the fourth anniversary of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the south, two people were killed and at least three wounded when Russian drones hit industrial, energy and civilian infrastructure in the Odesa region, said Governor Oleg Kiper. In Zaporizhzhia, a drone attack on industrial facilities killed a 33-year-old man and wounded another, according to regional chief Ivan Fedorov. A missile strike on Kharkiv's Kholodnogirsky district caused no immediate casualties, said Mayor Igor Terekhov.
Hungary will block the EU's next package of sanctions against Russia, the country's foreign minister has said, in a move aimed at pushing Ukraine to resume the flow of Russian oil through a pipeline supplying Hungarian refineries. 'At tomorrow's Foreign Affairs Council, the EU aims to adopt the 20th sanctions package. Hungary will block it,' Peter Szijjarto said on X on Sunday. 'Until Ukraine resumes oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline, we will not allow decisions important to Kyiv to move forward.' Ukraine condemned what it described as 'ultimatums and blackmail' by Hungary and Slovakia.
Vladimir Putin has said developing Russia's nuclear forces is now an absolute priority after the expiry of its last remaining nuclear treaty with the US. 'The development of the nuclear triad, which guarantees Russia's security and ensures effective strategic deterrence and a balance of forces in the world, remains an absolute priority,' the Russian president said in a video message on Sunday. Putin vowed to keep strengthening the army and navy, drawing on military experience from the war in Ukraine.
