Ukraine and Russia strikes hit homes and oil depot near Black Sea
The drone attack was one of several launched by Ukraine over the weekend, targeting installations in the southern Russian cities of Ryazan, Penza and Voronezh. The governor of Voronezh said four people were injured in one drone strike.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for stronger international sanctions on Russia this week after a deadly attack on Kyiv on Thursday killed at least 31 people.More than 300 drones and eight cruise missiles were launched in the assault, Ukrainian officials said, making the attack one of the deadliest on the capital since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
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Reuters
8 minutes ago
- Reuters
Russia's Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery halted operations after drone attacks, sources say
MOSCOW, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Primary oil processing at Russia's Novokuibyshevsk refinery, which is operated by the Rosneft oil company, has been halted since August 2 following a Ukrainian drone attack last week, two industry sources said. That was the first time a major Russian refinery had been attacked by a drone since March 2025. It came after U.S. President Donald Trump last Monday set a 10-12-day deadline for Moscow to agree on a ceasefire with Kiev or face consequences, underscoring his frustration over the continuing 3-1/2-year-old conflict. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Russia this week after his current visit in Israel. The refining capacity of Novokuibyshevsk is 8.3 million metric tons of oil per year (or some 160,000 barrels per day). Rosneft did not respond immediately to a request for comment. According to the sources, the attack damaged the main primary oil refining unit CDU-11 at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery. The refinery has two primary units: CDU-11 with a capacity of 18,900 metric tons per day, and CDU-9 with a capacity of 4,700 tons per day. The refinery planned to stop CDU-9 for a major scheduled maintenance from August to early September. According to the sources, the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery was recently processing about 18,000 tons of crude oil per day. Last year, the refinery processed 5.74 million tons of crude oil, produced 1.10 million tons of motor gasoline, 1.64 million tons of diesel fuel, and 1.27 million tons of fuel oil, according to industry sources.
BreakingNews.ie
39 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Stakes rise in Russia-Ukraine war as Trump's deadline for Kremlin approaches
The coming week could bring an important moment in the war between Russia and Ukraine, as US president Donald Trump's deadline for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal approaches — or it could simply melt away. Mr Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow in the middle of this week, just before Mr Trump's Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing or face potentially severe economic penalties from Washington. Advertisement Previous Trump promises, threats and cajoling have failed to yield results, and the stubborn diplomatic stalemate will be hard to clear away. Meanwhile, Ukraine is losing more territory on the front line, although there is no sign of a looming collapse of its defences. Emergency workers inspect damage from a Russian missile (Efrem Lukatsky/AP) Mr Witkoff was expected to land in the Russian capital on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Mr Trump, following his trip to Israel and Gaza. 'They would like to see (Witkoff),' Mr Trump said on Sunday of the Russians. 'They've asked that he meet so we'll see what happens.' Advertisement Mr Trump, exasperated that Russian president Vladimir Putin has not heeded his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, a week ago moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia as well as introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil, including China and India. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that officials are happy to meet with Mr Trump's envoy. 'We are always glad to see Mr Witkoff in Moscow,' he said. 'We consider (talks with Witkoff) important, substantive and very useful.' Mr Trump said on Sunday that Russia has proved to be 'pretty good at avoiding sanctions'. Advertisement 'They're wily characters,' he said of the Russians. The Kremlin has insisted that international sanctions imposed since its February 2022 invasion of its neighbour have had a limited impact. Ukraine insists the sanctions are taking their toll on Moscow's war machine and wants Western allies to ramp them up. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday urged the United States, Europe and other nations to impose stronger secondary sanctions on Moscow's energy, trade and banking sectors. Advertisement Mr Trump's comments appeared to signal he does not have much hope that sanctions will force Mr Putin's hand. The secondary sanctions also complicate Washington's relations with China and India, who stand accused of helping finance Russia's war effort by buying its oil. Since taking office in January, Mr Trump has found that stopping the war is harder than he perhaps imagined. Senior American officials have warned that the US could walk away from the conflict if peace efforts make no progress. Advertisement
The Guardian
39 minutes ago
- The Guardian
US special envoy Steve Witkoff expected to visit Moscow on Wednesday
Update: Date: 2025-08-04T12:39:17.000Z Title: Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow is now expected to take place on Wednesday, Content: Witkoff expected to visit Russia as latest deadline set by Donald Trump exires on Friday, requiring Putin to agree to a ceasefire or face sanctions Jakub Krupa Mon 4 Aug 2025 13.39 BST First published on Mon 4 Aug 2025 08.39 BST From 11.41am BST 11:41 US special envoy Tass news agency reported citing sources. The latest deadline, set by US president Donald Trump, requiring Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face sanctions is set to expire on Friday. Updated at 11.51am BST 1.39pm BST 13:39 Ukrainian authorities have charges six people including a lawmaker and a government official for embezzling funds in the purchase of drones and jamming equipment for the military, Reuters reported. Anti-corruption authorities said on Saturday they had uncovered a scheme involving the legislator, one current and one now sacked official, a National Guard commander and two businessmen, giving kickbacks for purchases at inflated prices. 'In 2024-2025, an organised criminal group systematically misappropriated funds allocated by local authorities for defence needs,' the National Anti-Corruption Bureau said in a statement quoted by Reuters, adding the bribes totalled around 30% of the contracts' value. The drone contract was worth $240,000 with an inflation of about $80,000, the bureau said. Reuters noted that none of the suspects were publicly identified by the authorities. 1.07pm BST 13:07 The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, claimed its counterintelligence agents foiled a Russian-inspired terrorist attack on Dnipro, saying a 29-year-old woman was recruited on Telegram to plant an improvised explosive device near a government building. In a post on Telegram, the SBU said it disarmed the explosive device and arrested the suspect as she attempted to flee to Odesa. The suspect could face up to 12 years in prison, the agency said. 12.34pm BST 12:34 Shaun Walker in Kyiv In Kyiv, there is little expectation that Witkoff will make a breakthrough with Putin, but a hope that Trump's changed rhetoric and tougher stance on Moscow may lead to a real change in US support for Ukraine. Mykhailo Podolyak, an aide to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said if Russia did not change its course by Friday, Kyiv would expect the 'irreversible logistics' of secondary sanctions on Russian oil exports to be set in motion. 'After that he'll look whether this is helping to bring about the end of the war or not, and if not then he will move to the next step,' said Podolyak, in an interview in Kyiv. The next move, he said, could be further sanctions, and the increased militarisation of Ukraine. 'Trump has already said he's ready to sell Europe as much weapons as they want [to pass to Ukraine]. Before he didn't say that … This is already a different conception of the world,' he said. Before that, though, all eyes will be on Witkoff's visit to Moscow. On previous trips, he has held long one-on-one meetings with Putin and has spoken of his warm feelings for the Russian leader. On one occasion Putin gifted him an oil painting of Trump, on another, Witkoff arrived without an interpreter and used a Kremlin-provided translator. The camaraderie has left both Kyiv and other US allies wondering whether Witkoff is capable of delivering harsh messages to Moscow, although his visit this week will be the first since Trump's rhetoric on Ukraine became noticeably harsher. 11.41am BST 11:41 US special envoy Tass news agency reported citing sources. The latest deadline, set by US president Donald Trump, requiring Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face sanctions is set to expire on Friday. Updated at 11.51am BST 11.32am BST 11:32 The Security Service of Ukraine, SBU, said it struck five Russian fighter jets at the Saky airfield in the Russian-occupied Crimea, claiming one aircraft was 'completely destroyed.' In a post on Telegram, it said that a Russian aviation weapons depot was also hit, with estimated Russian losses in tens of millions of dollars. 'The successful special operation of the SBU in Saky is another step towards weakening the enemy's ability to wage a war of aggression against Ukraine. The occupiers must remember that they will never feel safe on our land!,' it said. Updated at 11.34am BST 11.06am BST 11:06 Eurostar has just put out a note 'strongly' advising customers to postpone their journey to and from Paris to a different date if possible due to 'severe disruptions including cancellations' expected as a result of part of the track being closed in France. In a statement, it said: 'Due to part of the track being temporarily closed on the French network, severe disruptions including cancellations are expected all day to and from Paris. We strongly advise all our passengers to postpone their journey to a different date.' Live updates show disruptions to trains connecting London and Paris throughout the day, with multiple delays and cancellations. The disruption is caused by a power outage near Moussy, 50 km north of Paris, on a high speed line between Paris Nord and Arras with 'major repairs' required, France's railway company SNCF said on its website. A Eurostar spokesperson quoted by Reuters said that the London-Amsterdam, London-Brussels and Brussels-Amsterdam routes were unaffected by the disruption in France. 10.36am BST 10:36 Kremlin's Peskov also said that it was looking forward to US envoy Witkoff's visit later this week, considering it 'important, substantial and helpful.' Peskov told reporters that a meeting with president Vladimir Putin was an option, as the pair met multiple times in the past. 10.24am BST 10:24 And we now have a first public reaction from the Kremlin to Trump's announcement on nuclear submarines (9:39), with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying Russia had no desire to get into a polemic with Trump on the issue, Reuters reported. He also played down the significance of Trump's comments, saying it was clear that US submarines were already on combat duty anyway. 'Russia is very attentive to the topic of nuclear non-proliferation. And we believe that everyone should be very, very cautious with nuclear rhetoric,' Peskov said, quoted by AFP. Updated at 10.38am BST 10.05am BST 10:05 Shaun Walker in Kyiv Once a decade, Ukraine has a moment in which street protests redefine the country's political direction. The Orange revolution of 2004; the Maidan revolution of 2014; and now, over the past 10 days, the first major wave of protest since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. A series of unexpectedly boisterous and well-attended demonstrations forced Volodymyr Zelenskyy to execute a swift U-turn on his decision to scrap the independence of two anti-corruption bodies. On Thursday, MPs reversed the contentious changes they had adopted a week previously. Outside the parliament building, crowds whooped and cheered as the result of the vote was announced. The size, scope and demands of this latest protest movement have been much more modest than those of its revolutionary predecessors, but the spectacle has been no less remarkable, given the context of full-scale war in which it has taken place. 10.04am BST 10:04 Over the last week, a lot of attention focused on Zelenskyy's rushed U-turn on his anti-corruption law reform. Shaun Walker in Kyiv spoke to people taking part in these protests and their motivation behind them. Let me bring you his report with great photographs by Jędrzej Nowicki. 9.31am BST 09:31 Over the weekend, Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine and Russia were preparing a prisoner exchange that would see 1,200 Ukrainian troops return home, following talks in Istanbul in July. His comments came after an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot near the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi ignited a raging fire, as the two countries traded strikes at the end of one of the deadliest weeks in Ukraine in recent months. 8.56am BST 08:56 President Zelenskyy also called for more pressure on Russia, as he posted a video of drone strikes on what he said were first responders and medics arriving to help after attacks. 'Deliberate FPV [first person view] drone strikes on first responders and medics arriving to help after attacks – all of this is typical for every city or community within reach of Russian drones. The Russian army simply kills everything that is alive,' he warned. Zelenskyy said that 'the world has enough power to stop this and protect people.' He added: 'We count on strong decisions from the United States, Europe, and the world regarding secondary sanctions on Russian energy trade and Moscow's banking sector. Ukraine looks forward to the implementation of every agreement on strengthening defense that has been reached with its partners. Every day of delay results in the loss of our people.' 8.39am BST 08:39 Jakub Krupa Andriy Yermak, the most senior aide to Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seemingly enjoys the silence from Russia following Donald Trump's decision to move two nuclear submarines in response to provocative comments from the country's former president, Dmitry Medvedev. 'The moment American nuclear submarines appeared, … [he] suddenly went silent. Russia understands only one thing: strength,' he said. Expect Kyiv to keep making similar representations this week, before US special envoy Steve Witkoff visits Russia 'Wednesday or Thursday' for further talks ahead of Trump's 8 August deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine. On Friday, there were no signs that Vladimir Putin was willing to change his mind, as he repeated that the Russian 'conditions certainly remain the same,' even as he claimed that he nominally supported 'a lasting and stable peace.' With things getting quiet elsewhere as we hit peak holiday season, this could be the main focus this week. I will bring you all key updates from across Europe here. It's Monday, 4 August 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning.
