Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived Thursday in Saudi Arabia on an unannounced visit, days after revealing that Ukraine is helping five countries in the Middle East and Gulf region counter drone attacks on their territory during the Iran war.
“Arrived in Saudi Arabia. Important meetings are scheduled,” the Ukrainian leader said on X along with a video of his arrival. “We appreciate the support and support those who are ready to work with us to ensure security.”
Zelenskyy provided no more information about his visit but he said last week that Ukrainian officials are helping Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan with drone expertise and helping build a defense system. Ukraine is also looking into whether it can play a role in restoring security in the Strait of Hormuz, he said at the time.
In return, Ukraine is seeking more of the high-end air-defense missiles that Gulf countries possess and which Kyiv needs to stop Russia’s missiles.
Ukraine has quickly grown into one of the world’s leading producers of cutting-edge, battle-tested drone interceptors that are cheap and effective. They are playing a key part in its defense against Russia’s more than 4-year-old full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian officials did not announce nor immediately provide details of Zelenskyy's trip.
A group of northern European countries vowed Thursday to harden the fight against Russia's “shadow fleet” of tankers exporting its sanctioned oil, as Turkish officials said that one of those tankers approaching the Black Sea entrance to the Bosporus Strait was hit by a naval drone.
Russia's shadow fleet is made up of aging tankers that are bought used, often by nontransparent entities with addresses in countries that are not sanctioning Russia. Moscow needs the vessels to dodge Western sanctions and sell the oil and petroleum products that largely finance its more than 4-year invasion of Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a meeting with allies in Finland that "we should go after the shadow fleet even harder.”
Speaking with other members of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a 10-country group that has been tracking the vessels, Starmer said the British military will now be able to board shadow fleet tankers when they transit U.K. waters, joining several other allies in doing so.
“Together, we must close off critical sea routes to this vital trade, to keep up the pressure on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and to help change the narrative of this war” in Ukraine, Starmer said.
In a recorded video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia's oil and gas exports are fueling Moscow's effort to take over Ukraine.
“So please keep the pressure on Russia — its tankers and shadow fleet must not feel safe in European waters,” he said.
In Turkey, officials said that none of the 27 Turkish crew members of the Altura tanker was injured when it was attacked early Thursday, causing damage to the bridge and engine room.
The Altura, which reportedly was carrying 140,000 tons of crude oil when it was hit some 14 nautical miles north of the Bosphorus, has been owned by Turkey-based Pergamon Maritime since November.
The tanker has been subject to European Union sanctions since October due to its role in transporting sanctions-dodging Russian oil exports, according to the Open Sanctions website.
Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the tanker was subjected to an “attack by an unmanned sea vessel." He did not say whether Ukraine was suspected to be behind the attack.
In the past, Ukraine’s military has said it used sea drones to sink Russian vessels in the Black Sea. Earlier this month Russia blamed a Ukrainian naval drone for the sinking of a Russian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied natural gas in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
From left, Danish Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Anders Tang Friborg, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten pose for a group photo onboard the Finnish Border Guard offshore patrol vessel Turva, prior the Joint Expeditionary Force JEF Leaders' Summit meeting in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday March 26, 2026. (Adrian Dennis, Pool Photo via AP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he attends the Joint Expeditionary Force JEF Leaders' Summit in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday March 26, 2026. (Adrian Dennis, Pool Photo via AP)
A member of the Finnish Border Guard takes part in an exercise, during the JEF leaders' visit on the Finnish Border Guard offshore patrol vessel Turva, prior to the Joint Expeditionary Force JEF Leaders' Summit in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday March 26, 2026. (Adrian Dennis, Pool Photo via AP)
The risk of a catastrophic explosion at a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has been eliminated following a close overnight inspection that confirmed a crack in the tank relieved pressure and cooled the chemical, authorities said Monday.
Officials said crews conducted tank temperature checks at night to reduce risks to firefighters, avoiding daytime operations when heat from the tank made conditions around it most dangerous. The overnight mission allowed crews to verify the crack and confirm temperatures were falling, Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey said Monday morning.
Covey said the results of overnight evaluation of the tank — that the temperature inside had dropped and that pressure had been released — was “incredibly positive news.”
However, evacuation orders remained in place for about 50,000 people in Garden Grove, California, located south of Los Angeles.
Covey said falling temperatures and the release of pressure from the tank were allowing officials to “turn the corner on this incident” after days of concern about a possible explosion.
There has been no chemical leak as of early Monday, but the Orange County Fire Authority said the risk to public safety is “ongoing.”'
After the tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors, firefighters have repeatedly sprayed the tank with water in an attempt to cool the chemical inside, methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastic parts.
The tank's interior reached 100 degrees (37.7 Celsius) Sunday, an increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) since Saturday, according to Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg. On Monday, Covey said the temperature fell to 93 degrees F (33.9 degrees C).
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday and said he asked President Donald Trump to issue an emergency declaration to bolster federal support for local and state officials.
The tank at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft, holds 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate used to make plastic parts.
The first goal of firefighters was to cool off the chemical inside the tank to prevent a leak or explosion.
Drones were monitoring temperatures at 10-minute intervals to watch for any spikes. Containment barriers were set up to prevent the chemical from getting into storm drains or reaching creeks or the nearby ocean in the event of a spill, Covey said earlier.
As the interior temperature rises, methyl methacrylate converts from a liquid to a gas and increases the pressure, according to Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton, who had said earlier that the crack could mean product or pressure is being released, reducing the chance of explosion.
“Think of a soda can. If you leave it in a hot car it can explode,” Whelton said. “But if you put a hole in the can, the product is released and the can itself doesn’t explode.”
An explosion that could spread the chemical over a broad area and send shrapnel flying would be the worst-case scenario, he said.
Aerial photos taken by The Associated Press showed streets in the area were empty Sunday, while several evacuation shelters were open. At a high school in neighboring La Palma, people slept in cars or on mats and sleeping bags on the asphalt.
Garden Grove is next to Anaheim, home to Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders. Park officials said they were monitoring the situation.
Exposure to methyl methacrylate can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to fact sheets about the chemical.
Whelton said if an explosion occurs, it will be crucial to conduct detailed air monitoring specifically for methyl methacrylate and not just generic tests for volatile organic compounds as officials did after a 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which released more than 115,000 gallons (435,000 liters) of vinyl chloride after officials blew open five tank cars and burned the chemical.
Orange County health officials said the chemical is easy to smell and people may notice it over a large area without being harmed.
Some Garden Grove residents filed a class-action federal lawsuit Saturday against GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which operates the facility where the tank is located. Lawyers for the residents argued that regardless of what happens, property values in the surrounding community are sure to be impacted.
GKN Aerospace did not comment on the lawsuit but has apologized to residents and businesses forced to evacuate. It said Sunday it was “working around the clock to mitigate the risk of a leak.”
GKN Aerospace agreed in 2025 to pay state regulators more than $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.
Associated Press journalist Ethan Swope in Garden Grove, California, contributed to this report.
An evacuation map is displayed at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The streets remain empty in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after a storage tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday at an aerospace plastics facility. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Emergency personnel work at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Cypress, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
