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“We understand investigations are under way, and we have great respect for those investigations,” European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho said at a briefing in Brussels on Friday, November 28, commenting on searches carried out at the home of Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). “These actions show that Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies are doing their job,” Pinho stressed. Guillaume Mercier, the Commission’s spokesperson for EU enlargement policy, agreed: “This shows that anti-corruption bodies do exist and can function.” Fighting corruption is a core condition for a country’s bid to join the European Union, Mercier noted. “It requires constant effort and strong mandates. This is a key element mentioned in our enlargement report published a few weeks ago,” he said, pledging to continue closely monitoring developments around anti-corruption investigations in Ukraine. Ukrainian media, citing sources, report that Yermak, whose home was searched by anti-corruption authorities, has not been formally notified of suspicion. NABU and SAPO conducted the search under a ruling by an investigative judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court. The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine confirmed the search took place at his home and said he is cooperating with anti-corruption authorities. “There are no obstacles for investigators,” he emphasized. Germany expects Ukraine’s authorities to wage “an absolutely consistent, tough fight against corruption in the country, and this remains one of the conditions for further progress on its path to the European Union... It is extremely important to see progress here,” deputy German government spokesman Steffen Meyer said in response to a question from DW. “This is not a trivial matter. For us, it is a matter of utmost seriousness,” he stressed, adding that the German government, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, regularly discusses anti-corruption efforts with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and “with responsible institutions, including at the European Union level.” At the same time, Meyer made clear that Germany’s support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression remains in place and is not in question despite the corruption scandal. “Ukraine can be confident of our support,” the deputy spokesman said. “Ukraine is defending itself every day against brutal Russian aggression: we see bombs continue to fall daily, including on civilian targets. For several years this has occupied us with the utmost seriousness, and all our political efforts are aimed at ending this war so that Ukraine has a future as an independent state. That is where all our attention is focused,” he added. On November 10, NABU and SAPO said they had uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme involving the state-owned company Energoatom. At the center of the scandal are Ukrainian ministers, as well as longtime Zelensky ally Timur Mindich and financier Oleksandr Zuckerman. Law enforcement conducted searches the same day at Mindich’s residence, at Energoatom, and at the home of Ukraine’s Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko. Mindich had left Ukraine shortly beforehand. On November 12, Zelensky called for the dismissal of Halushchenko - who had been suspended two days earlier—and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk. On November 19, the Verkhovna Rada voted to dismiss both ministers. Zelensky also imposed sanctions on Mindich and Zuckerman.

Recently a number of media outlets published a 28-point “peace plan”. In reality, this plan will only escalate the war...

After the war ends, Ukraine should continue to exist as a “buffer state” between Russia and NATO, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban believes. “The only viable long-term solution is for the postwar order to be based on the fundamental principle that Ukraine once again becomes a buffer state, as it once was,” he said in an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag . At the same time, Orban considers territorial concessions by Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia, to be inevitable. “Russia will retain the territory agreed at an international peace conference, and everything to the west of that line — up to NATO’s eastern border — will form the territory of the Ukrainian state, which will once again exist as a buffer state,” the prime minister said. In his view, NATO and Russia should also agree “on the size and equipment of limited Ukrainian armed forces that will be allowed to operate in the buffer zone,” and both sides should “give guarantees that no one will subordinate this buffer state to their power.”  Orban noted that this is up for discussion. “International law has the tools to create such a system of guarantees,” he said. On November 28, Orban met Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks at the Kremlin. It was the Hungarian prime minister’s second visit to Moscow since 2024. He is considered Putin’s closest partner among EU leaders. Budapest said the official topic of the talks was securing cheap Russian energy supplies for the coming year. In addition, Orban again invited Putin to take part in peace talks on Ukraine in Budapest. “Time is on Russia’s side, not Ukraine’s” In the interview, the head of the Hungarian government urged people to “abandon illusions and look reality in the eye,” which he said is reflected in the U.S. 28-point peace plan. “First, time is on Russia’s side, not Ukraine’s — which means the longer peace is delayed, the more people and territory Ukraine will lose,” Orban said. Second, he said, Russia will be reintegrated into the global economy in line with American demands. “Sanctions will be gradually lifted, frozen assets will be used to create U.S.-Russian investment funds, and business will resume,” he noted. As a third point, the prime minister added: “The fairy tale that Europeans will finance the war with money from Russia is over. We have to admit to our citizens that every euro we have spent so far, and every euro we will spend in the future to support Ukraine, will be paid in full, 100 percent, by people in Europe.”

Ukraine is disputing Russia’s statements about the situation in Kupyansk. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russian leadership is spreading false claims to create a misleading picture of the city’s status. In reality, Ukrainian forces are continuing to clear Kupyansk of remaining Russian units and stabilize the situation, according to Syrskyi. He described the Kupyansk axis as one of the most intense, with fast-changing fighting that demands maximum coordination across units. Syrskyi visited Ukrainian positions in the Kharkiv region to assess the operational picture firsthand and issue guidance to commanders. Ukrainian units conduct both defensive and search-and-strike operations daily, part of a broader effort to hold the city and prevent a Russian breakthrough. Inside Kupyansk, troops continue to identify Russian fighters attempting to hide after a failed attempt to seize the city; they are being killed or taken prisoner. Syrskyi said Moscow’s claims of success by its forces do not match reality. He noted that even after high-profile statements by Russian propagandists, monitoring in the city showed fewer than 40 users on their radio network - an indicator, he said, of the true scale of the Russian presence. On approaches to Kupyansk, Ukrainian forces are holding key lines, intensifying fire pressure, and blocking potential supply routes for Russia’s military. Syrskyi added that units have their orders, and commanders received additional instructions to reinforce defenses and continue clearing operations.

Overnight on November 29, Ukraine’s Armed Forces said they struck the Afipsky oil refinery near the settlement of Afipsky in Russia’s Krasnodar region using drones. Regional authorities reported a fire covering about 100 square meters. “Part of the plant’s technical equipment was damaged; the storage tanks were not affected,” the Krasnodar regional operations center said on its Telegram channel . The first explosions near the Afipsky refinery were reported around 3 a.m. local time. Residents said blasts continued for more than an hour, and fires were recorded in the area of the plant. Authorities in the Krasnodar region confirmed that unmanned aerial vehicles struck strategic sites overnight. The regional operations headquarters said a fire broke out on the grounds of the Afipsky refinery following the drone attack, and plant personnel were evacuated to shelters. According to preliminary reports, the fire covered about 100 square meters. Technical equipment at the site was damaged, and emergency services are working at the scene. Ukraine’s military has previously targeted the Afipsky refinery, which it says provides fuel and lubricants to Russian forces in Ukraine. The plant can process more than 6 million tons of crude annually and produces gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Ukrainian officials have said disabling the refinery’s ability to produce aviation gasoline is particularly important because it is used by Russian military aircraft.

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