Europe live: Russia ‘does not deserve’ lifting of sanctions, Zelenskyy says, after deadly overnight strikes in Ukraine | Europe

Back to Ukraine, and the overnight Russian attacks on the country, we can now bring you a bit more on this with these interviews with local residents affected by the strikes.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has confirmed that it will hold first early talks with the incoming Hungarian government of Péter Magyar on Friday as it hopes for a constructive relationship after years of clashes with Viktor Orbán.

The meeting in Budapest comes just days after Magyar’s historic win ending Orbán’s 16 years in power.

“The clock is ticking for a number of topics,” EU spokesperson Paula Pinho said Thursday.

“These are preliminary talks that are taking place in order to make sure that once the government is in place, really, action can be taken if appropriate, and that we do not waste any time.”

As my colleague Jennifer Rankin explained the other day, one of the most urgent questions now for the EU will be how quickly Magyar will lift Hungary’s block on a critical €90bn loan for Ukraine and the union’s 20th round of sanctions against Russia.

For Magyar, a diplomat in Brussels during the Orbán years, the most urgent priority is to fulfil his campaign vow “to bring home” Hungary’s EU funds. Currently, €17bn in funds for Hungary’s economic development remain frozen, over failures to meet EU standards on fighting corruption, ensuring judicial independence, as well as disputes over academic freedom and Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ law.

Meanwhile, we are also getting a confirmation that Hungary’s outgoing prime minister Viktor Orbán will skip his final EU summit as he readies to hand over power after losing power in last Sunday’s parliamentary election.

Hungary’s EU affairs minister János Bóka confirmed he would not attend the meeting “due to his duties related to the handover of power,” and Hungary will not be politically represented in his absence.

The meeting is expected to discuss the crisis in the Middle East and the next EU budget, and the outgoing government said it communicated its views to the president of the European Council ahead of the summit.

Responding to Zelenskyy’s comments on sanctions (10:06), the European Commission said that “giving any relief in terms of sanctions … vis a vis Russia is not helpful in maintaining the pressure” on Moscow to end its aggression against Ukraine.

“It should be ironic that Russia is actually benefiting from the war in the Middle East,” the commission’s chief spokesperson Paula Pinho told reporters.

She said that the EU was still looking at tightening its sanctions and “hope to make some progress there” to make it difficult for Russia to “benefit from continuing this terrible war, where attacks do not stop as we just were reminded.”

Following the overnight attacks, the Ukrainian military struck two oil depots in Russia-occupied Crimea and infrastructure in Russia’s southern port of Tuapse, Kyiv’s drone forces commander said on the Telegram app.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry claimed that its overnight attack was focused on striking production facilities for cruise missiles and drones and energy targets, which it said supplied Ukraine’s armed forces, Reuters reported.

But the Ukrainian authorities said that the strikes killed a number of civilians, including two teenage children, with 16 dead, and some 100 wounded in total.

The Kremlin’s latest deadly attack comes after the end of a 32-hour Orthodox Easter truce marred by accusations of mass violations, according to both countries, AFP noted.

Peace talks spearheaded by the United States to end the war now grinding through its fifth year have been derailed by US and Israeli war with Iran, it noted.

German defence minister Boris Pistorius warned yesterday that while “the so-called Russian Ukrainian peace talks have currently been suspended, the truth is, anyway, Russia has never taken them seriously,” as he said “this is why it is all the more important to support Ukraine” (Europe Live, Wednesday).

President of the European Council António Costa has condemned the “horrendous” overnight attacks on Ukraine by Russia, alleging Russian forces “deliberately carried out follow-up strikes” to target first responders.

He said:

“As people slept in their homes, the cities of Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Kharkiv were struck by dozens of ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones. Russian armed forces deliberately carried out follow-up strikes on Ukrainian emergency services as first responders arrived to save lives.”

He added:

“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has failed, and so it chooses to deliberately terrorise civilians. Russia must stop this war of terror.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia “does not deserve any easing … or lifting on sanctions” after an overnight attack killed 16 and wounded 100 people in Ukraine.

He said:

“Russia is betting on war, and the response must be exactly that: we must defend lives with all available means, and we must also apply pressure for the sake of peace with the same full force.”

Zelenskyy said nearly 700 Russian drones and 19 ballistic missiles were fired at Ukraine, targeting mostly the capital city of Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro.

There can be no normalisation of Russia as it is today. Pressure on Russia must work.

Separately, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte is due to meet with the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and Germany’s Friedrich Merz will host Ireland’s Micheál Martin.

It’s Thursday, 16 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.