Ukrainian drone attack sparks massive fire at Russian oil depot near Sochi
More than 120 firefighters attempted to extinguish the blaze, sparked after debris from a downed drone struck a fuel tank, Krasnodar regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram. Videos on social media appeared to show huge pillars of smoke billowing above the oil depot.
Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, temporarily stopped flights at Sochi's airport.
Further north, authorities in the Voronezh region reported that four people were wounded in another Ukrainian drone strike.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 93 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Black Sea overnight into Sunday.
Meanwhile, in southern Ukraine, a Russian missile strike hit a residential area in the city of Mykolaiv, according to the State Emergency Services, wounding seven people.
The Ukrainian air force said Sunday Russia launched 76 drones and seven missiles against Ukraine. It said 60 drones and one missile were intercepted, but 16 others and six missiles hit targets across eight locations.
The reciprocal attacks came at the end of one of the deadliest weeks in Ukraine in recent months, after a Russian drone and missile attack on Thursday killed 31 people, including five children, and wounded over 150.
The continued attacks come after US President Donald Trump gave on Tuesday Russian President Vladimir Putin a shorter deadline — Aug. 8 — for peace efforts to make progress.
Trump said Thursday that special envoy Steve Witkoff is heading to Russia to push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its war with Ukraine and has threatened new economic sanctions if progress is not made.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Russia protests to Israel over alleged attack on diplomatic vehicle
MOSCOW: Russia lodged a formal protest to Israel following an alleged attack on a Russian diplomatic vehicle near the settlement of Givat Assaf near Jerusalem, according to a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry. 'On July 30, a vehicle of the Russian Federation's mission to the Palestinian National Authority, bearing diplomatic license plates and carrying personnel of the Russian diplomatic mission accredited by Israel's Foreign Ministry, was attacked near the illegal Israeli settlement of Givat Assaf, near Jerusalem, by a group of settlers,' Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. The incident occurred 'with the acquiescence of Israeli military personnel, who were present at the scene and did not attempt to stop the attackers' aggressive actions,' she added. Reuters was not able to independently verify the Russian foreign ministry's report. Zakharova said the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv had submitted an official demarche to Israeli authorities.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Oil Slips as OPEC+ Output Hikes Counter Russia Disruption Concerns
Oil slipped about 1% on Tuesday as rising OPEC+ supply and worries of weaker global demand countered concern about US President Donald Trump's threats to India over its Russian oil purchases. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, a move that will end its most recent output cut earlier than planned. Brent crude futures were down 70 cents, or 1%, to $68.06 a barrel at 1052 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 79 cents, or 1.2%, to $65.50. Both contracts fell by more than 1% on Monday to settle at their lowest in a week. Trump on Monday again threatened higher tariffs on Indian goods over the country's Russian oil purchases. New Delhi called his attack "unjustified" and vowed to protect its economic interests, deepening a trade rift between the two countries. Oil's move since Trump's threat indicates that traders are sceptical of a supply disruption happening, said John Evans of oil broker PVM in a report. He questioned whether Trump would risk higher oil prices. "I'd call it a stable market for oil," said Giovanni Staunovo, analyst at UBS. "Assume this likely continues until we figure out what the US president announces in respect to Russia later this week and how those buyers would react." India is the biggest buyer of seaborne crude from Russia, importing about 1.75 million bpd from January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by trade sources. Trump's threats come amid renewed concerns about oil demand and some analysts expect faltering economic growth in the second half of the year. JPMorgan said on Tuesday the risk of a US recession was high. Also, China's July Politburo meeting signalled no more policy easing, with the focus shifting to structural rebalancing of the world's second-largest economy, the analysts said.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
US envoy Witkoff to visit Moscow on Wednesday
US envoy Steve Witkoff will meet on Wednesday with Russian leadership in Moscow, an American source confirmed, as President Donald Trump's deadline to impose fresh sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine looms. The source did not specify if the meetings will include Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Witkoff has met with several times previously. Trump has given Russia until Friday to halt its offensive in Ukraine or face new penalties. The White House has not outlined specific actions it plans to take on Friday, but Trump has previously threatened to impose 'secondary tariffs' targeting Russia's remaining trade partners, such as China and India. The move would aim to stifle Russian exports, but would risk significant international disruption. Despite pressure from Washington, Russia has continued its onslaught against its pro-Western neighbor. Three rounds of peace talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a possible ceasefire, with the two sides appearing as far apart as ever. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce Western support. Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week urged his allies to push for 'regime change' in Moscow. In recent weeks, Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with Putin over Moscow's unrelenting offensive. When reporters asked Trump on Monday what Witkoff's message would be to Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid the sanctions, Trump replied: 'Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday it considered the talks with Witkoff to be 'important, substantial and helpful' and valued US efforts to end the conflict. Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said Friday that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his nearly three-and-a-half-year offensive were unchanged. Russia has frequently called on Ukraine to effectively cede control of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable. Putin also wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO. The visit comes after Trump said that two nuclear submarines he deployed following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were now 'in the region.' Trump has not said whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military. Russia, in its first comments on the deployment, urged 'caution' Monday. 'Russia is very attentive to the topic of nuclear non-proliferation. And we believe that everyone should be very, very cautious with nuclear rhetoric,' the Kremlin's Peskov said.
