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Images showed thick clouds of smoke billowing into the sky shortly after the attack on Oryol, Russia
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A major Russian oil depot has been set ablaze after Ukrainian troops launched a “massive drone attack” over 100 miles inside Russian territory.
The Stalnoy Kon oil refinery, part of Vladimir Putin’s “military industrial complex” that supplies Russian troops, was struck overnight, Kyiv’s chief of staff said.
The Russian governor of Oryol said on Telegram that fuel had caught fire at “a facility” in the region after the “massive drone attack”.
Russian media reported images, purportedly of the attack, showing clouds of smoke billowing up into the night sky from a fire.
It comes after Poland was forced to scramble fighter jets to “ensure the security of Polish airspace” after Russia launched a massive aerial attack against Ukraine.
The Polish military said ground-based air defences and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest state of readiness during the attack overnight yesterday.
Meanwhile, Russia fired 93 missiles and almost 200 drones at Ukraine, with Volodymyr Zelensky describing it as one of the heaviest bombardments on the country’s energy sector since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
US treasury secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters on Friday that the US is looking at further sanctions on “dark fleet” tankers and will not rule out sanctions on Chinese banks as it seeks to reduce Russia’s oil revenue and access to foreign supplies to fuel its war in Ukraine.
Ms Yellen said in an interview that the US and its allies also could consider lowering their $60-per-barrel oil price cap on Russian oil, which prohibits Western insurance and maritime services on cargoes above that level.
The treasury has already sanctioned individual tankers and their owners for operating above the price cap and can do more in this area, Ms Yellen added, suggesting additional measures in the five weeks before she leaves office.
The European Union is preparing to impose its first sanctions against Russian intelligence for orchestrating disinformation and hybrid activities, Bloomberg reported. The proposed sanctions will target over a dozen individuals and three entities, including Russian intelligence officials and media entrepreneurs.
This move aims to counteract global destabilising operations attributed to Moscow.
Additionally, the EU intends to impose sanctions on approximately two dozen Belarusian individuals for alleged human rights abuses or connections to president Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.
This is part of a comprehensive sanctions package set to be ratified by EU foreign ministers on 16 December in Brussels.
The latest proposals align with the EU ambassadors’ recent endorsement of a 15th sanctions package against Russia. Announced by the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council on 11 December, this package targets Russia’s “shadow fleet” of older tankers used to circumvent oil export restrictions.
President Zelensky stresses that even with an invitation to the NATO military alliance, long-term protection would still be uncertain in the face of future Russian aggression
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will attend a meeting with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Nato and the EU in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss support for his country in its war with Russia, sources familiar with the plan told Reuters.
The meeting comes as European countries face the possibility of the US, Ukraine’s largest source of support, changing its approach to the conflict when Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.
Mr Zelensky and some of his European allies have called for European troops to be deployed to Ukraine to act as a deterrent to further military action by Russia after any ceasefire.
“It won’t be a meeting that has concrete decisions, but more political to discuss the coming weeks and months,” said a source familiar with the meeting.
The gathering, hosted by Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte, will be held on the day leaders were already due to meet for the EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels, and involve a joint meeting and several bilateral meetings with Mr Zelensky.
War has overshadowed the region’s natural resources and beauty – yet with a wine-making history dating back thousands of years, wine runs through the veins of Ukraine. The Independent’s wine columnist Rosamund Hall sources the best selection. Budmo!
UK defence secretary John Healey says the exercise will improve the ability to innovate at wartime speed
At least three feminist activists have been detained for vandalising a monument outside the United Nations building in Geneva to protest Russia’s war against Ukraine and what they see as the UN’s failure to stop the conflict
The fall of the Assad regime in Syria has led to questions over Russia’s ability to sustain its military adventures abroad. Russia had supported Assad militarily for over a decade, building on longstanding ties between Moscow and Damascus.
But the rapid advance of anti-government forces this month saw Russia apparently powerless to influence the situation beyond a number of airstrikes (as always, apparently mostly delivered on civilian targets) in support of government forces.
That has inevitably led people to draw conclusions about Russia’s ability to project power overseas, and what it may mean for the course of the war in Ukraine.
The end of Bashar al-Assad’s rule in Syria has led to many asking questions about Russia’s ability to project power overseas, and what it may mean for the course of the war in Ukraine. Here, Keir Giles explains why we should be wary of any hasty conclusions
A major Russian oil depot has been set ablaze after Ukrainian troops launched a “massive drone attack” over 100 miles inside Russian territory.
The Stalnoy Kon oil refinery, part of Vladimir Putin’s “military industrial complex” that supplies Russian troops, was struck overnight, Kyiv’s chief of staff said.
The Russian governor of Oryol said on Telegram that fuel had caught fire at “a facility” in the region after the “massive drone attack”.
Russian media reported images, purportedly of the attack, showing clouds of smoke billowing up into the night sky from a fire.
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