Ukraine-Russia latest: Huge fire at Russian oil depot after drone strike by Kyiv in blow to Putin’s war machine

WorldPolitics
3 Aug 2025 • 10:03 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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Over 100 firefighters rushed to tackle a blaze at an oil depot in Sochi, Russia, after Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack in a blow to Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

Footage showed towering flames and thick black smoke billowing from a fuel tank with a capacity of 70,000 cubic feet in Krasnodar on the Black Sea.

The attack, which was in the Adler district of the coastal resort city, would be Ukraine's latest on infrastructure inside Russia that Kyiv deems key to Moscow's war efforts.

A woman was killed in the Adler district in a Ukrainian drone attack late last month, but attacks on Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, have been infrequent in the war that Russia launched in February 2022.

Meanwhile, at least seven people were injured after Russian troops launched a missile strike on the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine on Sunday.

The attack destroyed or damaged dozens of homes, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said. There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attack.

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Ukraine-Russia latest: Key Points

  • Ukraine's drone attack sparks fire at oil depot in Russia's Sochi
  • Russian missile attack injures seven in Mykolaiv, Ukraine says
  • Trump sends nuclear submarines near Russia after Medvedev taunt

Ukraine's drone attack sparks fire at oil depot in Russia's Sochi, governor says

17:00

,

Alexander Butler

More than 120 firefighters were trying to extinguish a fire at an oil depot in the Russian city of Sochi that was sparked by an Ukrainian drone attack, regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said early on Sunday on the Telegram messaging app.

Rosaviatsia, Russia's civil aviation authority, said on Telegram that flights were halted at the city's airport to ensure air safety.

Russian and Chinese navies carry out artillery and anti-submarine drills in Sea of Japan

16:00

,

Alexander Butler

The Russian and Chinese navies are carrying out artillery and anti-submarine drills in the Sea of Japan as part of scheduled joint exercises, the Russian Pacific Fleet was quoted as saying on Sunday.

The drills are taking place two days after US President Donald Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in "the appropriate regions" in response to remarks by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

However, they were scheduled well before Mr Trump's action.

Interfax news agency quoted the Pacific Fleet as saying Russian and Chinese vessels were moving in a joint detachment including a large Russian anti-submarine ship and two Chinese destroyers.

It said diesel-electric submarines from the two countries were also involved, as well as a Chinese submarine rescue ship. The manoeuvres are part of exercises titled “Maritime Interaction-2025” which are scheduled to end on Tuesday.

Ukraine uncovers major corruption scheme in military drone procurement

15:00

,

Alexander Butler

Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies said on Saturday they had uncovered a major graft scheme that procured military drones and signal jamming systems at inflated prices, two days after the agencies' independence was restored following major protests.

The independence of Ukraine's anti-graft investigators and prosecutors, NABU and SAPO, was reinstated by parliament on Thursday after a move to take it away resulted in the country's biggest demonstrations since Russia's invasion in 2022.

In a statement published by both agencies on social media, NABU and SAPO said they had caught a sitting lawmaker, two local officials and an unspecified number of national guard personnel taking bribes. None of them were identified in the statement.

"The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices," it said, adding that the offenders had received kickbacks of up to 30 per cent of a contract's cost. Four people had been arrested.

"There can only be zero tolerance for corruption, clear teamwork to expose corruption and, as a result, a just sentence," president Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

Mr Zelensky, who has far-reaching wartime presidential powers and still enjoys broad approval among Ukrainians, was forced into a rare political about-face when his attempt to bring NABU and SAPO under the control of his prosecutor-general sparked the first nationwide protests of the war.

He subsequently said that he had heard the people's anger, and submitted a bill restoring the agencies' former independence, which was voted through by parliament on Thursday.

Recap: Ukraine's drone attack sparks fire at oil depot in Russia's Sochi, governor says

14:30

,

Alexander Butler

More than 120 firefighters were trying to extinguish a fire at an oil depot in the Russian city of Sochi that was sparked by an Ukrainian drone attack, regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said early on Sunday on the Telegram messaging app.

Rosaviatsia, Russia's civil aviation authority, said on Telegram that flights were halted at the city's airport to ensure air safety.

Morning briefing: Here's the latest from Russia-Ukraine war

14:00

,

Alexander Butler

  • Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv early on Sunday, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said on the Telegram messaging app. Witnesses heard a loud blast shaking the city soon after midnight.
  • A fire that broke out near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant after Ukrainian shelling has been brought under control, the Russian-installed administration of the Russia-held plant in Ukraine said on Saturday. A civilian was killed but no plant employees or members of the emergency services had been injured and radiation levels remained normal.
  • Ukraine on Saturday said it struck military targets and a gas pipeline in drone attacks on Russian territory. Russian authorities reported that the strikes sparked fires, killing three people and wounding two others.
  • Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies said it uncovered a major graft scheme that procured military drones and signal jamming systems at inflated prices, two days after the agencies' independence was restored following major protests.

Recap: Russian missile attack injures seven in Mykolaiv, Ukraine says

13:30

,

Alexander Butler

A Russian missile strike on the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine injured at least seven people and destroyed or damaged dozens of homes and civilian infrastructure buildings, the regional governor said on Sunday.

Two of the injured were hospitalised as a result of the late Saturday attack, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said on the Telegram messaging app.

Kim posted photos showing single residential buildings almost destroyed, with building debris spread around. He said 23 private homes, 12 apartment buildings and a post office were damaged.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attack. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine's air force said on Telegram that Russia had launched 76 attack drones and seven missiles targeting Ukraine overnight, striking eight locations throughout Ukraine. Ukraine's air defence units destroyed 60 of the drones and one missile, it said.

Watch: Injured Ukrainian soldier flees frontline on e-bike delivered by drone

13:15

,

Alexander Butler

Recap: Trump says he ‘ordered’ nuclear submarines to ‘region’ over Ukraine war rhetoric from Russia’s Medvedev

13:00

,

Alexander Butler

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Trump warns Putin’s right-hand man: ‘You’re entering very dangerous territory’

12:45

,

Alexander Butler

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Watch: Ukrainian military takes down Russian drones

12:32

,

Alexander Butler

Editorial: Donald Trump may finally have the measure of Putin

11:30

,

Alexander Butler

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An injured Ukrainian soldier was stuck behind enemy lines for days. He escaped on an e-bike airdropped by a drone

10:30

,

Alexander Butler

image is not available

Russian and Chinese navies carry out artillery and anti-submarine drills in Sea of Japan

09:33

,

Alexander Butler

The Russian and Chinese navies are carrying out artillery and anti-submarine drills in the Sea of Japan as part of scheduled joint exercises, the Russian Pacific Fleet was quoted as saying on Sunday.

The drills are taking place two days after US President Donald Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in "the appropriate regions" in response to remarks by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

However, they were scheduled well before Mr Trump's action.

Interfax news agency quoted the Pacific Fleet as saying Russian and Chinese vessels were moving in a joint detachment including a large Russian anti-submarine ship and two Chinese destroyers.

It said diesel-electric submarines from the two countries were also involved, as well as a Chinese submarine rescue ship. The manoeuvres are part of exercises titled “Maritime Interaction-2025” which are scheduled to end on Tuesday.

Russian missile attack injures seven in Mykolaiv, Ukraine says

08:03

,

Alexander Butler

A Russian missile strike on the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine injured at least seven people and destroyed or damaged dozens of homes and civilian infrastructure buildings, the regional governor said on Sunday.

Two of the injured were hospitalised as a result of the late Saturday attack, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said on the Telegram messaging app.

Kim posted photos showing single residential buildings almost destroyed, with building debris spread around. He said 23 private homes, 12 apartment buildings and a post office were damaged.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attack. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine's air force said on Telegram that Russia had launched 76 attack drones and seven missiles targeting Ukraine overnight, striking eight locations throughout Ukraine. Ukraine's air defence units destroyed 60 of the drones and one missile, it said.

Morning briefing: Here's the latest from Russia-Ukraine war

07:30

,

Stuti Mishra

  • Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv early on Sunday, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said on the Telegram messaging app. Witnesses heard a loud blast shaking the city soon after midnight.
  • A fire that broke out near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant after Ukrainian shelling has been brought under control, the Russian-installed administration of the Russia-held plant in Ukraine said on Saturday. A civilian was killed but no plant employees or members of the emergency services had been injured and radiation levels remained normal.
  • Ukraine on Saturday said it struck military targets and a gas pipeline in drone attacks on Russian territory. Russian authorities reported that the strikes sparked fires, killing three people and wounding two others.
  • Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies said it uncovered a major graft scheme that procured military drones and signal jamming systems at inflated prices, two days after the agencies' independence was restored following major protests.

Ukraine's drone attack sparks fire at oil depot in Russia's Sochi, governor says

07:05

,

Stuti Mishra

More than 120 firefighters were trying to extinguish a fire at an oil depot in the Russian city of Sochi that was sparked by an Ukrainian drone attack, regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said early on Sunday on the Telegram messaging app.

Rosaviatsia, Russia's civil aviation authority, said on Telegram that flights were halted at the city's airport to ensure air safety.

Zelensky praised for restoring independence of Ukraine's anti-graft investigators amid first major protests since Russian invasion

06:30

,

Stuti Mishra

Ukraine's European allies praised Volodymyr Zelensky's move to restore independence of Ukraine's anti-graft investigators and prosecutors, after having voiced concerns about the original stripping of the agencies' status.

Top European officials had told Mr Zelensky that Ukraine was jeopardising its bid for European Union membership by curbing the powers of its anti-graft authorities.

"It is important that anti-corruption institutions operate independently, and the law adopted on Thursday guarantees them every opportunity for a real fight against corruption," Mr Zelensky wrote on Saturday after meeting the heads of the agencies, who briefed him on the latest investigation.

Ukraine uncovers major corruption scheme in military drone procurement

05:55

,

Stuti Mishra

Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies said on Saturday they had uncovered a major graft scheme that procured military drones and signal jamming systems at inflated prices, two days after the agencies' independence was restored following major protests.

The independence of Ukraine's anti-graft investigators and prosecutors, NABU and SAPO, was reinstated by parliament on Thursday after a move to take it away resulted in the country's biggest demonstrations since Russia's invasion in 2022.

In a statement published by both agencies on social media, NABU and SAPO said they had caught a sitting lawmaker, two local officials and an unspecified number of national guard personnel taking bribes. None of them were identified in the statement.

"The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices," it said, adding that the offenders had received kickbacks of up to 30 per cent of a contract's cost. Four people had been arrested.

"There can only be zero tolerance for corruption, clear teamwork to expose corruption and, as a result, a just sentence," president Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

Mr Zelensky, who has far-reaching wartime presidential powers and still enjoys broad approval among Ukrainians, was forced into a rare political about-face when his attempt to bring NABU and SAPO under the control of his prosecutor-general sparked the first nationwide protests of the war.

He subsequently said that he had heard the people's anger, and submitted a bill restoring the agencies' former independence, which was voted through by parliament on Thursday.

Russia says it destroyed about 15 Ukrainian drones

05:22

,

Stuti Mishra

Russian air defence units destroyed about 15 Ukrainian drones over Voronezh, the governor, Alexander Gusev, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The overnight attack resulted in several homes and utility buildings catching fire from falling drone debris and a woman was injured, the governor of the southern Russian region said on Sunday.

"The threat of further drone attacks remains," Mr Gusev said in the post early on Sunday.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in their strike in the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022.

Kyiv says that its attacks inside Russia are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow's war efforts and are in response to Russia's relentless strikes on Ukraine.

The Russian defence ministry said that its units destroyed 41 drones just before midnight on Saturday over Russian regions bordering Ukraine and over the waters of the Black Sea.

Woman injured in Russia in Ukrainian attack

04:30

,

Stuti Mishra

A Ukrainian drone strike reportedly injured a woman and sparked multiple fires in Russia’s southern Voronezh region, the local governor said today.

Meanwhile, Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian capital’s military administration.

Russia launches new missile strike on Kyiv

04:00

,

Maroosha Muzaffar

Russia fired a missile at Kyiv early today, the city’s military administration said on Telegram.

Reuters witnesses described a loud explosion that shook the capital shortly after midnight.

The strike comes just days after Russia carried out its deadliest aerial assault on Kyiv this year, which left at least 31 people dead, including five children, and wounded more than 150.

Putin not ready to seriously negotiate, says Lammy

03:00

,

Alex Croft

Vladimir Putin is not ready for serious negotiations on peace in Ukraine, UK foreign secretary David Lammy has said in an interview with The Guardian.

"My sober assessment is that Putin is not ready to seriously negotiate,” Mr Lammy told the outlet.

“He still has maximalist and imperialist ambitions. The battle Ukraine has fought, with UK, European and American support, is immense.”

The foreign secretary also spoke of his admiration of the Ukrainian people.

"Even if the world left them behind, they’d still be waging a guerrilla war, such is their belief in their country. It’s deeply inspiring,” he said.

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Fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant brought under control, Russian authorities say

02:01

,

Alex Croft

A fire that broke out near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant after Ukrainian shelling has been brought under control, the Russian-installed administration of the Russia-held plant in Ukraine said on Saturday.

Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant in the first weeks of Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Both sides have accused each other of firing or taking other actions that could trigger a nuclear accident.

The plant's administration said on Telegram that a civilian had been killed in the shelling, but that no plant employees or members of the emergency services had been injured.

The station, Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, is not operating but still requires power to keep its nuclear fuel cool.

The plant's Russia-installed management said radiation levels remained within normal levels and the situation was under control.

Russia says its forces captured Oleksandro-Kalynove in eastern Ukraine

01:00

,

Alex Croft

Russia's defence ministry said Russian forces had captured the village of Oleksandro-Kalynove in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region on Saturday

The battlefield report was not immediately verified.

Atomic agency reports hearing explosions near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Saturday 2 August 2025 23:59

,

Alex Croft

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday that its team at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) heard explosions and saw smoke coming from a nearby location.

The nuclear plant said one of its auxiliary facilities was attacked today, IAEA said in a statement.

"The auxiliary facility is located 1,200 metres from the ZNPP's site perimeter and the IAEA team could still see smoke from that direction in the afternoon," the nuclear watchdog said.

Trump: It’s ‘disgusting’ what Russia is doing to Ukraine

Saturday 2 August 2025 23:14

,

Alex Croft

Zelensky responds to huge drone attack on Russian oil site

Saturday 2 August 2025 22:30

,

Alex Croft

Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken out following the huge Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian oil refinery.

The Ukrainian president received a report about the strikes from Vasyl Maliuk, the head of Ukraine’s security service.

“I am grateful for our special long-range operations on Russian territory,” he said.

“Each of them is tangible for the enemy, and our operations will continue – Russia is dragging out the war, so it will receive just responses.”

Europe should see Ukrainian military as European army, says Russian opposition activist

Saturday 2 August 2025 21:59

,

Alex Croft

Europe must start seeing the Ukrainian military as a European army, a prominent Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin said on Friday.

“The Ukrainian army is not only protecting Ukraine, it is protecting Europe from Russian aggression,” he said in a speech addressing Russians in exile at Belgrade concert hall.

Mr Yashin was imprisoned in 2022 for criticising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and released last year. Between February 2022 and 2024, more than 74,000 Russians registered for temporary residence in Serbia, according to the latest interior ministry data.

Saturday 2 August 2025 21:26

,

Alex Croft

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Trump says he's 'going to protect our people' in response to Medevev threat

Saturday 2 August 2025 20:55

,

Alex Croft

A Ukrainian MP has been suspended from Volodymyr Zelensky’s ruling Servant of the People party while he is investigated for his part in a corruption scheme.

As we reported earlier, Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies said on Saturday they had uncovered a major graft scheme that procured military drones at inflated prices, two days after the agencies' independence was restored following major protests.

Davyd Arakhamiia, leader of the Servant of the People faction, said on Telegram: "MP Oleksii Kuznietsov's membership of the faction will be suspended while the investigation is ongoing.

“We await the court hearing of the case in due course. Those guilty of corruption offences must face just punishment, regardless of their status or position."

In a statement published earlier by both agencies on social media, NABU and SAPO said they had caught a sitting lawmaker, two local officials and an unspecified number of national guard personnel taking bribes. None of them were identified in the statement.

Trump says it is 'disgusting' what Russia doing to Ukraine

Saturday 2 August 2025 20:21

,

Alex Croft

President Donald Trump has said that Russia’s war in Ukraine is “disgusting”.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said he plans to impose sanctions on Moscow if no agreement can be reached to end the conflict.

Trump said he was not sure whether sanctions would deter Russia.

He has given Russian President Vladimir Putin until August 8 to make a deal or else he will respond with economic pressure.

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Trump: We have moved nuclear submarines 'closer to Russia'

Saturday 2 August 2025 19:48

,

Alex Croft

Donald Trump has said US nuclear submarines have been positioned “closer to Russia”, he said in an interview with Newsmax on Saturday.

The US president had yesterday said he had ordered to nuclear submarines to be deployed to “appropriate region”,

"We always want to be ready, and so I have sent to the region two nuclear submarines," Mr Trump told Newsmax. "I just want to make sure that his (Medvedev's) words are only words and nothing more than that."

It comes after former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev suggested Moscow could strike the US with a nuclear weapon.

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Ukraine protects Europe from Kremlin aggression, Russian dissident Yashin says

Saturday 2 August 2025 19:36

,

Alex Croft

Europe must start seeing Ukraine as a European country, and the Ukrainian military as a European army, Ilya Yashin, a prominent Russian opposition activist, has said.

"The Ukrainian army is not only protecting Ukraine, it is protecting Europe from Russian aggression," he told hundreds of Russians who now live in Serbia.

Yashin was imprisoned in 2022 for criticising Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and was released last year, along with 15 other prisoners in Russian and Belarusian jails.

His speech at a Belgrade concert hall was the first such public appearance of a high-profile Russian dissident in Serbia since 2022.

Between February 2022 and 2024, more than 74,000 Russians registered for temporary residence in Serbia, according to the latest Interior Ministry data, many fleeing conscription or persecution for their opposition to President Vladimir Putin.

Watch: Ukrainian military shares footage of anti-drone operations

Saturday 2 August 2025 18:27

,

Alex Croft

India to continue purchasing Russian oil despite Trump's threats

Saturday 2 August 2025 17:56

,

Alex Croft

India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite US president Donald Trump's threats of penalties, two Indian government sources told Reuters on Saturday, not wishing to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

On top of a new 25% tariff on India's exports to the U.S., Trump indicated in a Truth Social post last month that India would face additional penalties for purchases of Russian arms and oil. On Friday, Trump told reporters he had heard that India would no longer be buying oil from Russia.

But the sources said there would be no immediate changes.

"These are long-term oil contracts," one of the sources said. "It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight."

Justifying India's oil purchases from Russia, a second source said India's imports of Russian grades had helped avoid a global surge in oil prices, which have remained subdued despite Western curbs on the Russian oil sector.

Ukraine anti-corruption agencies discover drone graft scheme

Saturday 2 August 2025 17:09

,

Alex Croft

Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies said on Saturday they had uncovered a major graft scheme that procured military drones at inflated prices, two days after the agencies' independence was restored following major protests.

The independence of Ukraine's anti-graft investigators and prosecutors, Nabu and Sapo, was reinstated by parliament on Thursday after a move to take it away resulted in the country's biggest demonstrations since Russia's invasion in 2022.

In a statement published by both agencies on social media, NABU and SAPO said they had caught a sitting lawmaker, two local officials and an unspecified number of national guard personnel taking bribes. None of them were identified in the statement.

"The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices," it said, adding that the offenders had received kickbacks of up to 30% of a contract's cost. Four people had been arrested.

"There can only be zero tolerance for corruption, clear teamwork to expose corruption and, as a result, a just sentence," president Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

Mr Zelensky, who has far-reaching wartime presidential powers and still enjoys broad approval among Ukrainians, was forced into a U-turn when his attempt to bring NABU and SAPO under the control of his prosecutor-general sparked the first nationwide protests of the war.

Three people die in overnight Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia

Saturday 2 August 2025 16:35

,

Alexander Butler

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Putin not ready to seriously negotiate, says Lammy

Saturday 2 August 2025 16:12

,

Alex Croft

Vladimir Putin is not ready for serious negotiations on peace in Ukraine, UK foreign secretary David Lammy has said in an interview with The Guardian.

"My sober assessment is that Putin is not ready to seriously negotiate,” Mr Lammy told the outlet.

“He still has maximalist and imperialist ambitions. The battle Ukraine has fought, with UK, European and American support, is immense.”

The foreign secretary also spoke of his admiration of the Ukrainian people.

"Even if the world left them behind, they’d still be waging a guerrilla war, such is their belief in their country. It’s deeply inspiring,” he said.

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An injured Ukrainian soldier was stuck behind enemy lines for days. He escaped on an e-bike airdropped by a drone

Saturday 2 August 2025 15:52

,

Alexander Butler

An injured Ukrainian soldier stuck behind enemy lines for days was rescued after being delivered an e-bike by a drone.

A video of the dramatic rescue showed a UAV drone airdropping the 40kg bike down to the wounded man, who was surrounded by Russian forces, before he cycled away.

The soldier’s Rubizh brigade said three men were killed by enemy fire during a skirmish in Siversk, northern Ukraine, leaving the soldier on his own for five days.

Fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant brought under control, Russian authorities say

Saturday 2 August 2025 15:23

,

Alex Croft

A fire that broke out near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant after Ukrainian shelling has been brought under control, the Russian-installed administration of the Russia-held plant in Ukraine said on Saturday.

Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant in the first weeks of Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Both sides have accused each other of firing or taking other actions that could trigger a nuclear accident.

The plant's administration said on Telegram that a civilian had been killed in the shelling, but that no plant employees or members of the emergency services had been injured.

The station, Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, is not operating but still requires power to keep its nuclear fuel cool.

The plant's Russia-installed management said radiation levels remained within normal levels and the situation was under control.

No response from Russia officials to Trump move yet

Saturday 2 August 2025 14:19

,

Alexander Butler

There has been no response from the Kremlin, Russian foreign ministry or defence ministry since US president Donald Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines “near Russia”.

Putin says Russia's hypersonic missile has entered service and will be deployed in Belarus

Saturday 2 August 2025 13:00

,

Alexander Butler

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Russia says its forces captured Oleksandro-Kalynove in eastern Ukraine

Saturday 2 August 2025 11:59

,

Alexander Butler

Russia's defence ministry said Russian forces had captured the village of Oleksandro-Kalynove in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region on Saturday

The battlefield report was not immediately verified.

Ukraine says it hit Russian oil facilities, military airfield

Saturday 2 August 2025 11:14

,

Alexander Butler

Ukraine's military said on Saturday that it had struck oil facilities inside Russia, including a major refinery as well as a military airfield for drones and an electronics factory.

In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said they had hit the oil refinery in Ryazan, about 180 km (110 miles) southeast of Moscow, causing a fire on its premises.

Also hit, the USF said, was the Annanefteprodukt oil storage facility in the Voronezh region that borders on northeastern Ukraine.

The statement did not specify how the facilities were hit, but the USF specialises in drone warfare, including long-range strikes.

There was no immediate comment from Russia on the reported attacks on its infrastructure sites.

Three people die in overnight Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia

Saturday 2 August 2025 10:00

,

Alexander Butler

Ukrainian drone attacks overnight into Saturday killed three people, Russian officials said.

Russia's Defence Ministry said air defenses intercepted or destroyed 112 drones across eight Russian regions and the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.

A drone attack on the Rostov region, on the border with Ukraine, killed one person, acting governor Yuri Slyusar said.

Further from the front line, a woman was killed and two other people wounded in a drone strike on business premises in the Penza region, according to regional governor Oleg Melnichenko.

In the Samara region, falling drone debris sparked a fire that killed an elderly resident, regional Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said.

According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia launched 53 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight into Saturday.

It said that air defenses shot down or jammed 45 drones.

Watch: Trump moves two nuclear submarines close to Russia

Saturday 2 August 2025 09:30

,

Alexander Butler

Trump warns Putin’s right-hand man: ‘You’re entering very dangerous territory’

Saturday 2 August 2025 09:00

,

Alexander Butler