Ukrainian drones spark fire at Sochi oil depot
"Sochi suffered a drone attack by the Kyiv regime last night," the governor of Russia's Krasnodar region, Veniamine Kondratiev, said on Telegram.
Drone wreckage hit an "oil tank, which caused a fire", he said.
Ukraine has regularly hit Russian oil and gas infrastructure in response to attacks on its own territory since Russia began its offensive in February 2022.
Overnight, 127 firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze, Kondratiev said. Images, broadcast by Russian media but whose authenticity AFP could not verify, showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke rising from the site.
Air traffic was suspended at Sochi airport but resumed shortly afterwards, Russia's air transport regulator Rosaviatsia said.
Air strikes on Sochi, around 400km from the Ukrainian border, are relatively rare compared to some other Russian cities.
However, Ukrainian drone attacks killed two people there late last month, according to local authorities.
Ukrainian authorities had not commented on the fire.
Kyiv has warned it will intensify its air strikes against Russia in response to an increase in Russian attacks on its territory in recent weeks, which have left dozens of civilians dead.
Last week, US President Donald Trump gave his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, a ten-day ultimatum, until next Friday, to end the conflict in Ukraine.
The airstrikes and fighting have not abated, however, and the Kremlin has rejected the idea of a lasting ceasefire in Ukraine, which it sees as a gift to Kyiv's troops.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Oil prices rebound from 5-week low on Trump threats on Russian crude buyers
TOKYO :Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, rebounding from a five-week low in the previous day, on concerns of supply disruptions after U.S. President Donald Trump's threats of tariffs on India over its Russian crude purchases. Brent crude futures rose 29 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $67.93 a barrel by 0119 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $65.44 a barrel, up 28 cents, or 0.4 per cent. Both contracts fell by more than $1 on Tuesday to settle at their lowest in five weeks, marking a fourth session of losses, on oversupply concerns from OPEC+'s planned September output hike. "Investors are assessing whether India will reduce its Russian crude purchases in response to Trump's threats, which could tighten supply, but it remains to be seen if that will actually happen," said Yuki Takashima, economist at Nomura Securities. "If India's imports remain steady, WTI is likely to stay within the $60-$70 range for the rest of the month," he said. 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. The OPEC+ pumps about half of the world's oil and had been curtailing production for several years to support the market, but the group introduced a series of accelerated output hikes this year to regain market share. At the same time, U.S. demands for India to stop buying Russian oil as Washington seeks ways to push Moscow for a peace deal with Ukraine could upset supply flows as Indian refiners seek alternatives and Russian crude is redirected to other buyers. Trump on Tuesday again threatened higher tariffs on Indian goods over the country's Russian oil purchases over the next 24 hours. Trump also said declining energy prices could pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the war in Ukraine. New Delhi called Trump's threat "unjustified" and vowed to protect its economic interests, deepening a trade rift between the two countries. Nomura's Takashima also pointed to industry data showing crude inventories in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer, as supportive for the oil market. U.S. crude inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels last week, sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures said on Tuesday. That compares with a Reuters poll estimate of a 600,000 barrels draw for the week to August 1. [API/S]
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Moscow-appointed officials say five dead in Ukrainian attack on Russian-held Luhansk region
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A Ukrainian attack on municipal workers in Russian-held Luhansk region killed five people on Tuesday, Russia-appointed officials in the region said. Leonid Pasechnik, the Russia-appointed head of the region, wrote on Telegram that four workers trying to maintain water supplies in the city of Svatove had been killed in the strike. The head of the region's health service, quoted by Russia's state-run TASS news agency, later said a worker wounded in the strike had died in hospital. Luhansk is one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia annexed in 2022 -- along with Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia -- seven months after launching its full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour. Moscow said in June it had secured control over the entirety of Luhansk region. It holds parts of the other three. REUTERS
CNA
6 hours ago
- CNA
Zelenskiy says he had 'productive' call with Trump ahead of ceasefire deadline
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday (Aug 5) that he had a "productive" conversation with US President Donald Trump on ending the war, sanctions on Russia, and finalising a US-Ukraine drone deal. "President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities," Zelenskiy wrote on X, referring to intensifying drone and missile attacks. Trump, who has signalled frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, has given the Kremlin leader until Thursday (Aug 8) to make peace in Ukraine or face tougher sanctions. A source in Washington said US envoy Steve Witkoff would be meeting the Russian leadership in Moscow on Wednesday. CEASEFIRE EFFORTS AND DRONE DEAL Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said Trump "knows the situation along the front line," which stretches 1,000km through eastern and southern Ukraine. Ukraine, he said, had long supported US proposals for an immediate ceasefire and had proposed multiple formats to halt the fighting. "We have spoken with and proposed to Russia quiet in the skies, no missile and drone attacks and specifically no attacks on civilian infrastructure or on the energy sector," Zelenskiy said. "All of this has been violated by the Russians and in a very cynical fashion." Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions and levy 100 per cent tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil. However, sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters that Putin is unlikely to yield to the ultimatum. Zelenskiy also said Ukraine was ready to conclude a deal with the United States on the purchase of Ukrainian-made drones. The deal, previously valued at around US$30 billion, would be "one of the strongest agreements," he said. Ukraine is increasingly relying on foreign investment to bolster its domestic arms industry. Zelenskiy added that Kyiv's European partners had already pledged to buy over US$1 billion worth of American weapons for Ukraine under a new procurement scheme.
