At least four people killed as Russia and Ukraine trade strikes overnight
Russia’s second-largest oil refinery is set on fire by drones while Russian strikes target Ukrainian energy sites.
Overnight strikes between Russia and Ukraine have killed at least four people and damaged a Russian oil refinery.
A Russian attack on Ukraine’s port city of Odesa killed three people, the head of the city’s military administration said on Monday. One other person was wounded and was in serious condition.
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The Kirishi refinery in Russia’s Leningrad region was also set on fire in a Ukrainian drone attack, Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said on Monday in a post on Telegram.
One woman was killed by falling drone debris, Drozdenko said.
The Ukrainian military’s chief of staff said Ukraine also hit the Morozov plant near St Petersburg, which produces explosives and fuel for Russian missiles used against Ukraine.
Also on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his country had agreed to establish a new mechanism to allow European Union funds to be deployed more quickly in response to Russian attacks against Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
The Kirishi refinery is Russia’s second largest, and the Leningrad region is a major hub for the country’s oil and grain exports via the Baltic Sea.
Leningrad’s governor also said air defence forces downed 113 Ukrainian drones and an apartment in Kirishi had been damaged in the same overnight attack on the region.
Russian forces also struck three power substations and a cargo ship in the Black Sea that Moscow said was providing arms to Ukrainian forces, Russian state news agencies reported.
Global News Insight could not independently verify these claims.
Russia has attacked Ukraine’s energy sector 128 times over the past week, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy. It said the attacks are part of a long-term campaign to degrade Ukraine’s energy and heating infrastructure before the winter.
“Right now, many of our cities and communities are facing a very difficult situation with power, water, and heating supplies due to Russian strikes,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Monday.
The president said he had agreed with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, to “activate a special emergency mechanism” that would allow European funding “for what is needed most”.
“Our teams are already working on this,” Zelenskyy added.
The Kyiv, Dnipro, Sumy and Donetsk regions as well as Kherson are facing the most acute energy crises, the Ukrainian president said.
Upcoming negotiations
The Kremlin insisted on Monday that this week’s negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States will remain in the “trilateral” format. That followed French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot saying Europe would be represented at Tuesday’s talks and France would participate.
“What is set to take place in Abu Dhabi are trilateral negotiations between Russia and Ukraine under the mediation of the United States,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“As for the Europeans, there are separate channels of communication between the Ukrainians and Europeans as well as the Americans and Europeans,” Peskov said.
Zelenskyy said he has coordinated negotiating positions in his talks with von der Leyen before the Abu Dhabi talks.
“We are doing everything to ensure that the trilateral format delivers results,” Zelenskyy said.
US President Donald Trump stoked fears that Washington would side with the Kremlin when he announced plans for a “very big” deal with Russia involving not only Ukraine but “all of Europe”.
