Russia accuses Ukraine of blowing up gas pumping station in 'act of terrorism'
Reuters
USA TODAY
MOSCOW, March 21 - Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of blowing up a major Russian gas pumping and measuring station in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border in what it called "an act of terrorism."
Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said in a statement it had opened a criminal case over the incident which it said had done "significant damage" to the facility near the town of Sudzha.
The Ukrainian military has denied involvement in the attack.
The facility, once used by Gazprom to export gas via Ukraine to Europe, is in a region largely recaptured by Russian forces this week after heavy fighting with Ukrainian troops who had held it since last year.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Anastasia TeterevlevaEditing by Andrew Osborn)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
30 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Putin Calls Trump to Wish Him A Happy Birthday, Discuss Iran
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Amid celebrate his birthday celebrations, President Donald Trump took a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the two mostly discussed the current situation in Iran. "President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well. We talked at length," Trump said in his post. "Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week," Trump explained, adding, "He is doing the planned prisoner swaps - large numbers of prisoners are being exchanged, immediately, from both sides." Trump continued to say he believes both wars should end, saying "The call lasted approximately 1 hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end." The call comes as Trump celebrated his 79th birthday during his second term in office, and hours before the president is set to attend the Military Parade in Washington D.C., which starts at 6:30 p.m. ET. It also comes following two days of intense military operations between Israel and Iran that saw at least 78 people killed, and more than 320 injured in Iran by Israeli forces, and two dead, 44 injured in Israel. Among those killed dead are Iranian Armed Forces chief of staff Major General Mohammed Bagheri, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Major General Hossein Salami and IRGC Aerospace Forces commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, as well as several nuclear scientists, Newsweek previously reported. Israel's sudden large-scale campaign prompted Iran to cancel a sixth round of nuclear talks set to be held Sunday in Oman, as announced by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday. The Omani Foreign Ministry confirmed Saturday that the negotiations would not be held. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Trump, Putin speak via phone about Israel-Iran conflict
President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday over the phone for 50 minutes, where the two leaders discussed the Israel-Iran conflict and negotiations to end the three-year war in Ukraine, according to the Kremlin. Putin told Trump about his Friday conversations with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, the 'importance of preventing the escalation' in the Middle East and that Russia is ready to carry out mediation efforts if needed, according to Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov. Trump, according to Ushakov, 'assessed' the situation in the Middle East as 'very alarming' and 'acknowledged the effectiveness' of Israel's strikes on Iran that have resulted in the killing of a number of Tehran's military leaders and dozens of nuclear scientists. Trump confirmed that the two presidents mostly talked about the back-and-forth between Israel and Iran but also touched on the developments in the Russia-Ukraine war. 'We talked at length. Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week,' Trump wrote in a Saturday post on Truth Social, adding that Putin 'feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end.' Trump expressed his willingness to continue negotiations with Iran over the Islamic Republic's rapidly expanding nuclear program. Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was slated to speak with his counterpart, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, on Sunday in Muscat, Oman, marking the sixth round of discussions between the two sides. After Israeli strikes, which began Thursday night, Iranian officials pulled out of the talks. The meeting will not take place on Sunday, a senior U.S. administration official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic talks. The official added that the administration remains 'committed to talks and hope the Iranians will come to the table soon.' A senior White House official told The Hill's sister network NewsNation that 'we have the ability to negotiate a successful peaceful resolution to this conflict if Iran is willing.' 'The fastest way for Iran to accomplish peace is to give up its nuclear weapons program,' the official added on Saturday. Putin also spoke to Trump about the implementation of the agreements reached between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations during their meeting on June 2 in Turkey, according to Ushakov. Ushakov added that the Kremlin is ready to continue talks with Ukraine and that Trump expressed his willingness to end the largest land war in Europe since World War II. Trump said on Saturday that Putin is 'doing the planned prisoner swaps – large numbers of prisoners are being exchanged, immediately, from both sides' and added that the conversation lasted 'approximately 1 hour.' Trump wrote that Putin 'very nicely' wished him a happy birthday.
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Ukraine repatriates 1,200 civilian, military remains
A Ukrainian prisoner of war reacts following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Saturday. Photo by Stringer/EPA-EFE June 14 (UPI) -- Russia and Ukraine exchanged an unreported number of prisoners of war on Saturday during the fourth such exchange during the week. Ukraine also received the bodies of 1,200 dead civilians and military personnel from Russia. The bodies are in addition to 2,412 that were sent to Ukraine on Wednesday and Friday and are being released per agreements reached during recent negotiations in Istanbul, the Kyiv Independent reported. "The remains will now undergo forensic examination and identification procedures conducted by law enforcement investigators in cooperation with expert institutions under the [Ukrainian] Interior Ministry," officials for the Coordination Headquarters Prisoners of War said in a prepared statement. Identifying the bodies enables respective Ukrainian families to recover them for burial. Ukrainian and Russian officials agreed to exchange the bodies of 6,000 soldiers and civilians for each side for a total exchange of 12,000 bodies. Although the two nations agreed to exchange bodies, Russian officials said Ukraine did not return 1,200 bodies during Saturday's exchange. Russia and Ukraine are also exchanging prisoners of war who need medical care. Ukraine has transferred wounded Russian soldiers who have been captured, including many who were transferred directly from the frontlines. As cease-fire negotiations continue to end the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has continued to strike Ukraine with drone attacks. Russia is on pace to strike Ukraine with nearly 7,000 drones, which would exceed the record number of 4,198 drones launched against Ukrainian military and civilian targets in March. "This is terrorism against the civilian population aimed to create a series of doom, war-weariness and to put pressure on the [Ukrainian] authorities," Liveuamap co-founder Rodion Rozhkovskiy told the Kyiv Independent. While the war in Ukraine and related negotiations continue in Istanbul, Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Donald Trump on Saturday to wish him a happy birthday and discuss matters in Iran during the one-hour call. "We talked at length," Trump said in a White House statement issued after the phone call ended. "Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week," Trump said. He said Putin knows Iran "very well" and agreed the war between Israel and Iran should end. Trump said he told Putin, "his war should also end" in Ukraine. The president did not offer more details on his conversation with Putin. Russian forces on Friday captured the Ukrainian village of Yablunivka, which is located in northeastern Ukraine and about 5 miles from the border between the two nations, Russian officials announced on Saturday. Russian forces also reportedly captured the villages of Koptevo and Komar in the eastern Donetsk region in Ukraine and six in total over the past week.
