Ukrainian drones strike Russian industrial sites as Belgorod reports death
Moscow reports a death near the Ukrainian border and damage to industrial sites, while Russian attacks on Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia kill two, leaving Trump's proposed pause on energy strikes in tatters.
Overnight Ukrainian drone and missile strikes across southern Russia killed one person and damaged commercial and industrial sites, regional officials said on Tuesday. Alexander Shuvayev, acting governor of the Belgorod region, confirmed one death in an attack near the border with Ukraine, and said a woman hospitalised after strikes earlier this month had also died.
In the neighbouring Rostov region, Governor Yury Slyusar said an Ozon warehouse was among several sites damaged in a missile attack on the port city of Taganrog. Ozon confirmed that it had suspended operations at the facility, where it said a fire had broken out. No one was hurt, the company said. Federal investigators opened a criminal probe into terrorism over the attacks on Taganrog, citing damage to the warehouse and to other residential and agricultural buildings.
Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of the Samara region, said an industrial facility had been damaged in overnight strikes, and unconfirmed reports said a fire had broken out at the Syzran oil refinery. NASA's fire monitoring service, FIRMS, showed an active fire on Tuesday morning on the south-western outskirts of Syzran, where the refinery, attacked several times this year, is located. Russia's Defence Ministry said it had intercepted 222 Ukrainian drones across Russia and annexed Crimea between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
In Ukraine, officials said one person had been killed in Russian attacks on Kyiv, and separate attacks on the city of Zaporizhzhia killed one person. Two petrol stations in Kyiv were damaged in the overnight strikes, according to the state energy company Naftogaz.
The exchanges came despite an announcement earlier in the week by President Donald Trump that the two warring sides had allegedly agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure. Trump has sought to blame the surging cost of diesel in the United States on Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries. Those attacks have put pressure on fuel prices inside Russia and globally, as has the US-Israeli war against Iran, which has caused major disruption to energy markets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that Trump's suggestion of a ceasefire on energy sites, floated repeatedly over the past year, was a very good idea, but that it alone would not bring down global fuel costs.
The strikes underscore the reality that no understanding reached with the Kremlin can be trusted while Russian troops remain on Ukrainian soil and Moscow's campaign against civilian infrastructure continues. Ukraine, defending its sovereignty against an unprovoked assault, has struck back at the industrial and energy assets that fund and supply the invasion. The World House, which maintains a dedicated page outlining its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the consequences of Russia's aggression.