From 2h ago
Nato drills in Finland are ‘provocative’, says Russia’s foreign ministry
Nato exercises starting on 26 April in Finland and in close proximity to the Russian-Finnish border are provocative in nature, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, told RIA state news agency in remarks published on Wednesday.
“Nato military exercises near the Russian borders are provocative in nature. Their task is to exert military pressure on the Russian Federation through a demonstration of force,” Zakharova said, reports Reuters.
“The drills … increase the risks of possible military incidents,” added Zakharova.
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Russian forces have made significant advances in a narrow corridor in eastern Ukraine as an offensive by Moscow to take territory before western military aid arrives appears to be gathering pace.
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Footage posted by Kremlin military bloggers shows a Russian tricolour flying above the shattered village of Ocheretyne. Russian troops reportedly entered the territory on Sunday, north-west of the town of Avdiivka, after advancing about 5km in 10 days.
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Ukrainian police officer walks past a destroyed residential building in Ocheretyne. Russian forces have now reportedly entered the village.","caption":"A Ukrainian police officer walks past a destroyed residential building in Ocheretyne. Russian forces have now reportedly entered the village.","credit":"Photograph: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP/Getty Images"}},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
It comes as Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it was suspending consular services for military-age men living abroad, except for those heading back to Ukraine, in a move designed to increase conscription.
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The Ukrainian army retreated from Avdiivka in February and has been trying to establish a new defensive line in settlements along the Durna River but in recent weeks reinforced Russian units have been pushing forward, using air-launched glide bombs to pulverise Ukrainian bunkers.
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Moscow’s defence ministry claimed Ukrainian troops fled Ocheretyne in small groups and under heavy fire. Video showed a destroyed administration building, with its windows blown out and streets full of debris. Civilians appeared to have left.
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You can read more of the report by Luke Harding and Dan Sabbagh in Kyiv here:
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Nato exercises starting on 26 April in Finland and in close proximity to the Russian-Finnish border are provocative in nature, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, told RIA state news agency in remarks published on Wednesday.
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“Nato military exercises near the Russian borders are provocative in nature. Their task is to exert military pressure on the Russian Federation through a demonstration of force,” Zakharova said, reports Reuters.
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“The drills … increase the risks of possible military incidents,” added Zakharova.
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The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russia would further expand its “buffer zone” inside Ukraine if Kyiv takes delivery of longer-range Atcams missiles from the US that allow it to strike deeper inside Russia, reports Reuters.
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The US is preparing a $1bn military aid package for Ukraine, the first to be sourced from the yet to be signed $95bn foreign aid bill, two US officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
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When asked about the possibility that the package would include longer-range Atcams missiles, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s stance on the subject – that it will be forced to expand what it calls a buffer zone in Ukraine if longer-range missiles are delivered – had not changed.
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Ukraine’s SBU security service drones struck two Rosneft-owned oil depots in Russia’s Smolensk region in an overnight attack, according to a source in Ukrainian intelligence reports Reuters.
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The source said the depots contained 26,000 cubic metres of fuel and that the attack caused major fires and evacuation of personnel.
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“The SBU continues to effectively destroy military infrastructure and logistics that provide fuel to the Russian army in Ukraine,” the source said.
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“These facilities are and will remain our absolutely legitimate targets.”
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A Russian deputy defence minister has been detained on suspicion of bribe-taking, the country’s top law enforcement agency has said, a rare move amid the offensive in Ukraine.
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The investigative committee reported Timur Ivanov’s detention on Tuesday without offering any details of the accusations against him, saying only that he is suspected of taking an especially large bribe – a criminal offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
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deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov is pictured in a military uniform.","caption":"Russian deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov has been detained after allegedly taking a large bribe.","credit":"Photograph: Alexei Nikolsky/Reuters"}},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian news agencies, said a report on Ivanov’s detention had been presented to president Vladimir Putin. Defence minister Sergei Shoigu had been informed in advance of his detention, he said.
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Ivanov, 48, one of 12 deputy defence ministers, was sanctioned by both the US and the EU in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. He worked in companies dealing with fuel and energy and in the Moscow regional government before joining the defence ministry in 2010. He became a deputy minister in 2016.
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Forbes magazine has listed him as one of the wealthiest men in Russia’s security structures.
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You can read more on this story here:
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Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelenskiy said he is “grateful to the United States Senate for approving vital aid to Ukraine today”.
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In a social media post on X, Zelenskiy thanked the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, and the Republican Senate leader, Mitch McConnell for “their strong leadership in advancing this bipartisan legislation”. He also thanked “all US Senators on both sides of the aisle who voted in favor of it”.
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I am grateful to the United States Senate for approving vital aid to Ukraine today.
I thank Majority Leader Chuck Schumer @SenSchumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell @LeaderMcConnell for their strong leadership in advancing this bipartisan legislation, as well as all US…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 24, 2024
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Zelenskiy said that the vote to approve $95bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan reinforced “America’s role as a beacon of democracy and the leader of the free world” and expressed appreciation for the US president, Joe Biden’s support.
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“Ukraine’s long-range capabilities, artillery, and air defence are critical tools for restoring just peace sooner,” said Zelenskiy.
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Also, this piece by Jonathan Yerushalmy provides a handy explainer on what is in the $95bn foreign aid bill and why it has taken so long for Congress to pass it. Here is an excerpt:
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The bill allocates $60.84bn to support Ukraine in its battle to repel Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline have complained in recent months that they are completely outgunned and have been forced to ration ammunition.
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The package includes $23.2bn to replenish US weapons, stocks and facilities and $11.3bn for current US military operations in the region. The US does not have troops in Ukraine, but the Pentagon has been training Ukrainian troops elsewhere in the region.
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The bill also provides more economic assistance to Ukraine in the form of “forgivable loans”. The idea of structuring aid as a loan is a key Trump policy proposal and is supported by a number of Republicans. However, the bill contains a provision for the president to forgive the loan starting in 2026.
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You can read the full explainer here:
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It has gone 10.30am in Kyiv and in Moscow. This is our latest Guardian blog covering all the latest developments over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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The US Senate voted resoundingly on Tuesday to approve $95bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as a bipartisan super-majority united to send the long-stalled package to Joe Biden’s desk for signature. The final vote was 79 to 18.
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The legislation includes $60.8bn to replenish Ukraine’s war chest as it seeks to repel Russia from its territory.
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“Today the Senate sends a unified message to the entire world: America will always defend democracy in its hour of need,” said Chuck Schumer in a floor speech on Tuesday afternoon.
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“Make no mistake, America will deliver on its promise to act like a leader on the world stage, to hold the line against autocratic thugs like Vladimir Putin,” he continued. “We are showing Putin that betting against America is always, always a grave mistake.”
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More on that in a moment, but first, here are the other latest developments:
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The US Senate voted resoundingly on Tuesday to approve $95bn in wartime aid for Ukraine and Israel, along with defence support to Taiwan, as a bipartisan super-majority united to send the long-stalled package to Joe Biden’s desk for signature. The final vote was 79 to 18.
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In a call on Monday, Biden informed the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that he would “move quickly” to send desperately needed military aid, including air defence weaponry, after the bill’s passage by the Senate.
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The legislation includes $60.8bn to replenish Ukraine’s war chest as it seeks to repel Russia from its territory; $26.3bn for Israel and humanitarian relief for civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza; and $8.1bn for the Indo-Pacific region to bolster its defences against China.
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Russian missiles attacked a residential district of Kharkiv early on Wednesday, said the mayor, Ihor Terekhov. Information on casualties was being clarified, he added. Public broadcaster Suspilne said civil infrastructure had been destroyed in the assault. The air raid alert in Kharkiv region was subsequently lifted.
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Russian authorities have arrested Timur Ivanov, a deputy defence minister, on suspicion of taking an especially large bribe. Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that both Vladimir Putin, the president, and Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister, were informed. Ivanov, 48, is one of Russia’s 12 deputy defence ministers, and is under Europe and EU sanctions over the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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Russian forces have made significant advances in a narrow corridor in eastern Ukraine, as an offensive to take territory before a fresh injection of western military aid arrives appears to be gathering pace, Dan Sabbagh in Kyiv and Luke Harding report. Footage from Kremlin military bloggers showed a Russian tricolour flying above the shattered village of Ocheretyne, north-west of the occupied town of Avdiivka, after advancing about 5km in 10 days.
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Farther north, a large Russian offensive is under way to seize the town of Chasiv Yar. Ukraine’s eastern military command has said 20,000-25,000 enemy troops are trying to storm the hilltop town and surrounding districts.
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Ukraine’s foreign ministry is suspending consular services for military-age men living abroad, except for those heading back to Ukraine, in a move designed to increase conscription. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said: “A man of conscription age went abroad, showed his state that he does not care about its survival, and then comes and wants to receive services from this state. It does not work this way. Our country is at war.” Since Russia’s full-scale 2022 invasion, men between the ages of 18 and 60 have to stay in Ukraine, with exceptions. The Eurostat database estimates about 4.3 million Ukrainians were registered in European Union countries as of January 2024, of whom about 20% are adult men – roughly 860,000 people.
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Authorities in Ukraine’s Sumy oblast bordering Russia reported four injuries from 51 attacks by Russian forces on Tuesday.
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Emergency services in Russian-held parts of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region said a Ukrainian drone strike on Tuesday killed four people in a car north of the town of Melitopol.
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The US Senate voted resoundingly on Tuesday to approve $95bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as a bipartisan super-majority united to send the long-stalled package to Joe Biden’s desk for signature. The final vote was 79 to 18.
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The bill easily cleared a key procedural hurdle earlier in the day. The Senate overwhelmingly voted to advance the measure in a step hailed by the majority leader as “one of the greatest achievements the Senate has faced in years”.
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“Today the Senate sends a unified message to the entire world: America will always defend democracy in its hour of need,” said Chuck Schumer in a floor speech on Tuesday afternoon.
","elementId":"a658476b-4279-4007-9f9e-b78385a1c32f"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
“Make no mistake, America will deliver on its promise to act like a leader on the world stage, to hold the line against autocratic thugs like Vladimir Putin,” he continued. “We are showing Putin that betting against America is always, always a grave mistake.”
","elementId":"3114a291-2a9f-4791-beb0-619a6ecd8638"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The legislation includes $60.8bn to replenish Ukraine’s war chest as it seeks to repel Russia from its territory; $26.3bn for Israel and humanitarian relief for civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza; and $8.1bn for the Indo-Pacific region to bolster its defenses against China.
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In a call on Monday, Biden informed the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that he would “move quickly” to send desperately needed military aid, including air defense weaponry, to the country after the bill’s passage by the Senate.
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Much of the foreign aid section of the bill mirrors what the Senate passed in February, with the addition of a measure mandating the president seek repayment from Kyiv for roughly $10bn in economic assistance in the form of “forgivable loans”, an idea first floated by Donald Trump, who was initially opposed to aiding Ukraine.
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You can read more of the report by Lauren Gambino in Washington and Joan E Greve here:
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Key events
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, are holding a press conference in Berlin, in which they will discuss funding for Ukraine.
You can watch the live feed here:
This handout photograph published on Wednesday on the official Telegram account of the Smolensk regional governor Vasily Anokhin, reportedly shows a firefighter working to extinguish a fire at an oil depot in the Smolensk region.
Ukrainian drones attacked oil facilities in western Russia overnight, defence sources in Kyiv confirmed on Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Officials in the western Russian regions of Smolensk and Lipetsk first announced the attacks, blaming Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles for starting blazes at energy sites.
“The fire is localised. There is no threat of its spread beyond the facilities,” Smolensk regional governor Vasily Anokhin said in a later post on social media, according to AFP.
He distributed images of first responders in helmets at the scene of the attack dousing flames as plumes of black smoke billowed over the site. No one was wounded or killed, the governor said.
Another drone attack targeted the Lipetsk region farther south, which houses metallurgical and pharmaceutical sites, governor Igor Artamonov said.
A source in the Ukrainian defence sector confirmed to AFP that drones of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had carried out the attacks.
The source made no mention of the attack on Lipetsk but claimed two oil depots were destroyed in the Smolensk region.
“Rosneft lost two storage and pumping bases for fuels and lubricants in the towns of Yartsevo and Rozdorovo,” the source said, referring to the Russian state-controlled energy company.
Russian forces make significant gains in eastern Ukraine
Russian forces have made significant advances in a narrow corridor in eastern Ukraine as an offensive by Moscow to take territory before western military aid arrives appears to be gathering pace.
Footage posted by Kremlin military bloggers shows a Russian tricolour flying above the shattered village of Ocheretyne. Russian troops reportedly entered the territory on Sunday, north-west of the town of Avdiivka, after advancing about 5km in 10 days.
It comes as Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it was suspending consular services for military-age men living abroad, except for those heading back to Ukraine, in a move designed to increase conscription.
The Ukrainian army retreated from Avdiivka in February and has been trying to establish a new defensive line in settlements along the Durna River but in recent weeks reinforced Russian units have been pushing forward, using air-launched glide bombs to pulverise Ukrainian bunkers.
Moscow’s defence ministry claimed Ukrainian troops fled Ocheretyne in small groups and under heavy fire. Video showed a destroyed administration building, with its windows blown out and streets full of debris. Civilians appeared to have left.
You can read more of the report by Luke Harding and Dan Sabbagh in Kyiv here:
According to a report by the Associated Press (AP), the priest who oversaw a memorial service for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been suspended for three years by the head of the country’s Orthodox Church.
Dmitry Safronov held a memorial service at Navalny’s gravesite in Moscow on 26 March to mark 40 days since the politician’s death, an important ritual within Russian Orthodox tradition.
The AP reports that an order on the Moscow diocese website demoted Safronov from his position as priest to that of a psalm-reader and stripped him of the right to give blessings or to wear a cassock for the next three years.
According to the news agency, no reason was given for the decision, which was signed by Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a key ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Nato drills in Finland are ‘provocative’, says Russia’s foreign ministry
Nato exercises starting on 26 April in Finland and in close proximity to the Russian-Finnish border are provocative in nature, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, told RIA state news agency in remarks published on Wednesday.
“Nato military exercises near the Russian borders are provocative in nature. Their task is to exert military pressure on the Russian Federation through a demonstration of force,” Zakharova said, reports Reuters.
“The drills … increase the risks of possible military incidents,” added Zakharova.
Russia will expand Ukraine ‘buffer zone’ if Kyiv gets longer range missiles, says Kremlin
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russia would further expand its “buffer zone” inside Ukraine if Kyiv takes delivery of longer-range Atcams missiles from the US that allow it to strike deeper inside Russia, reports Reuters.
The US is preparing a $1bn military aid package for Ukraine, the first to be sourced from the yet to be signed $95bn foreign aid bill, two US officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
When asked about the possibility that the package would include longer-range Atcams missiles, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s stance on the subject – that it will be forced to expand what it calls a buffer zone in Ukraine if longer-range missiles are delivered – had not changed.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday dismissed media speculation about the reasons behind the arrest of deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov on bribery charges, and urged reporters to focus on official information, reports Reuters.
Asked about a report that Ivanov was suspected of treason, Peskov said: “There are many different interpretations around all this now.”
“You need to focus on official information,” Peskov said. “It is necessary to focus on the information of the investigative authorities and, ultimately, on the court’s decision.”
Pjotr Sauer
Pjotr Sauer is a Russian affairs reporter for the Guardian.
A well-connected Russian deputy defence minister has been charged with bribe-taking, in the highest-profile corruption scandal in the country in years, triggering speculation about a possible purge within Moscow’s elites.
Timur Ivanov, 47, who was responsible for Russia’s military infrastructure projects, was detained by the FSB services late on Tuesday evening at his work.
On Wednesday, Ivanov, wearing his military uniform, appeared behind a glass cage in a Moscow court, where he was formally arrested and charged with high bribery. The court remanded him in custody for two months and placed him in the high-security Lefortovo prison in Moscow. He faces 15 years in jail if convicted.
Ivanov was widely seen as a long-term confidant of the powerful defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, having worked with Shoigu across various agencies for more than a decade.
The sudden arrest of an ally of Shoigu, who in turn Putin tasked with fighting the war in Ukraine, sparked speculations about a battle within the elite and of a public crackdown on the corruption that has plagued Russia’s post-Soviet armed forces.
“It is hard to find an official who has done more for Shoigu than Ivanov,” said a former defence official who worked directly with Ivanov, asking for anonymity so they could speak freely.
“This is an attack on Shoigu’s standing. But Shoigu has weathered other storms before.”
The UK has been accused of “helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine” by continuing to import record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Kremlin fossil fuels.
Government data analysed by the environmental news site Desmog shows that imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey amounted to £2.2bn in 2023, the same record value as the previous year, up from £434.2m in 2021.
Russia is the largest crude oil supplier to India and China, while Turkey has become one of the biggest importers of Russian oil since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
This comes as Russia is increasingly targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, with only a few major power plants not yet damaged or destroyed. UK politicians have been lobbying the US to approve £60bn in military aid for Ukraine, which finally passed on 20 April. The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has been advocating for frozen Russian assets to be deployed to Ukraine’s war effort.
In response to the 2022 invasion, allies of Ukraine pledged to divest from Russian oil and gas. The UK officially banned the import of Russian oil products from 5 December 2022. However, a loophole in the legislation has allowed Russian oil to continue to flow into the UK.
You can read the full piece by Sam Bright here:
The Ukrainian online newspaper, the Kyiv Independent, says its sources have told them that Russia’s state-controlled company Rosneft “lost two storage and pumping bases for fuel and lubricants in Yartsevo and Razdorovo in Smolensk oblast” on Wednesday.
The Kyiv Independent has also shared a screengrab from footage circulating on social media of what was purported to be a burning oil terminal in Yartsevo.
The Guardian could not independently verify the image or footage.