A Russian oil depot was set ablaze overnight after Ukraine launched a drone attack on the site, according to Russian officials.
Up to 55 people were fighting to extinguish the fire in Krasnodar, southern Russia, on Wednesday morning, the region’s governor Veniamin Kondratyev said.
Kyiv has launched a series of drone attacks on Russian energy facilities over recent days, including at a major oil refinery in Volgograd.
It comes as Volodymyr Zelensky signalled he was ready to negotiate the end of the Ukraine war with Russian president Vladimir Putin if it was the only method to bring peace to Ukraine.
"If that is the only set-up in which we can bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine and not lose people, definitely, we will go for this set-up for the meeting,” he said.
"I will not be kind to him. I consider him an enemy. And to be honest, I believe he considers me an enemy as well," Zelensky said.
Zelensky also revealed Ukraine has lost more than 45,000 soldiers on the battlefield since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Key Points
- Kyiv sets Russian oil refinery ablaze in overnight attack
- Zelensky ready to speak with Putin to end conflict
- Over 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in invasion, says Zelensky
- Russian attacks near Ukrainian nuclear sites raise concerns
- Trump demands Ukraine's earth minerals to US as payment for war aid
Bomber dies in attack on Ukrainian army recruitment centre
03:24
,
Arpan Rai
At least one person died while setting up an attack on a Ukrainian army recruitment centre in western Ukraine, officials said.
The war-hit nation is witnessing a string of attacks against its mobilisation effort. This is the ninth such attack this year targeting a Ukrainian recruitment centre.
The explosion took place at the Kamianets-Podilsky recruitment centre and wounded four other people, said Sergiy Tyurin, the regional administrator.
Ukraine's military shoots down 57 out of 104 drones launched by Russia overnight
03:15
,
Alexander Butler
The Ukrainian military said that Russia launched 104 drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine in the early hours of Wednesday.
Of that number, the Ukrainian air force shot down 57 and 42 drones did not reach their targets likely due to electronic warfare, the military said.
Zelensky says US military aid not cut – but no talks on new packages
03:01
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine continues to receive military aid from the US, but there's no discussion currently about any prospective packages.
"There's no reduction in US support today. It is not stopped, it continues," he told reporters in Kyiv after a meeting with British foreign secretary David Lammy.
Mr Zelensky said it was "too early" for discussions regarding new batches of military assistance.
Asked about Ukraine's ability to fight without American aid, he said cutting supplies would hit the country's defence capabilities.
"We will be weaker, and whether we would hold (the land) – I'm not sure," he added.
Russian forces capture two settlements in Ukraine, TASS says
03:00
,
Alexander Butler
Russian troops took control of the settlements of Baranivka and Novomlynsk in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions of eastern Ukraine, the TASS state news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Russian defence ministry.
Nato jets scramble Russian bombers
02:00
,
Alexander Butler
Two Norwegian jets rushed to respond after four Russian planes flew dangerously close to NATO airspace yesterday.
The Russian TU-95 bombers were being escorted by two Flanker-D planes in the high north but were closely monitored by the Norweigan Air Force F-35s.
Major General Øivind Gunnerud, Norwegian Air Chief, said: “Our Quick Reaction Alert mission in the High North is important for our national defence and NATO’s collective security.
“The ability to respond swiftly ensures the safety of our airspace and highlights the strength of our allied forces in maintaining peace and stability.”
North Korean troops pulled from Ukraine war front line – what happened?
01:00
,
Alexander Butler
The fatal lengths North Korean soldiers will go to to avoid capture by Ukraine
Wednesday 5 February 2025 23:00
,
Alexander Butler
The defenders of Kyiv using World War Two-style machine guns on farm trailers
Wednesday 5 February 2025 22:00
,
Alexander Butler
Russia confirms POW swap with Ukraine, brokered by UAE
Wednesday 5 February 2025 21:00
,
Alexander Butler
Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday exchanged 150 prisoners of war on each side after mediation by the United Arab Emirates, the Russian defence ministry said.
It said all of the freed Russians were currently in Belarus, where they were receiving psychological and medical assistance.
Robotic vehicles to be rolled out to bolster Ukrainian front line
Wednesday 5 February 2025 20:00
,
Alexander Butler
British medic loses arm and leg in strike in Ukraine
Wednesday 5 February 2025 19:00
,
Alexander Butler
Mapped: Where are Ukraine's rare earth mineral resources and why does Trump want them?
Wednesday 5 February 2025 18:00
,
Alexander Butler
Wednesday 5 February 2025 17:00
,
Alexander Butler
Pictured: Russian oil depot blaze
Wednesday 5 February 2025 16:00
,
Alexander Butler
Nato jets scramble Russian bombers
Wednesday 5 February 2025 15:02
,
Alexander Butler
Two Norwegian jets rushed to respond after four Russian planes flew dangerously close to NATO airspace yesterday.
The Russian TU-95 bombers were being escorted by two Flanker-D planes in the high north but were closely monitored by the Norweigan Air Force F-35s.
Major General Øivind Gunnerud, Norwegian Air Chief, said: “Our Quick Reaction Alert mission in the High North is important for our national defence and NATO’s collective security.
“The ability to respond swiftly ensures the safety of our airspace and highlights the strength of our allied forces in maintaining peace and stability.”
Ex-Tory MP joins Ukraine’s foreign legion to aid fight against Putin
Wednesday 5 February 2025 13:30
,
Alexander Butler
UK foreign secretary visits Ukraine as Zelensky discloses troop losses
Wednesday 5 February 2025 12:10
,
Alexander Butler
Special report: The fatal lengths North Korean soldiers will go to to avoid capture by Ukraine
Wednesday 5 February 2025 11:30
,
Alexander Butler
Special dispatch: The defenders of Kyiv using World War Two-style machine guns on farm trailers
Wednesday 5 February 2025 11:00
,
Alexander Butler
Kyiv sets Russian oil refinery ablaze
Wednesday 5 February 2025 10:28
,
Alexander Butler
A Russian oil depot was set ablaze overnight after Ukraine launched a drone attack on the site, according to Russian officials.
Up to 55 people were fighting to extinguish the fire in Krasnodar, southern Russia, on Wednesday morning, the region’s governor Veniamin Kondratyev said.
Kyiv has launched a series of drone attacks on Russian energy facilities over recent days, including at a major oil refinery in Volgograd.
Russian forces capture two settlements in Ukraine, TASS says
Wednesday 5 February 2025 10:07
,
Alexander Butler
Russian troops took control of the settlements of Baranivka and Novomlynsk in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions of eastern Ukraine, the TASS state news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Russian defence ministry.
North Korean troops pulled from Ukraine war front line – what happened?
Wednesday 5 February 2025 09:00
,
Alexander Butler
Mapped: Where are Ukraine's rare earth mineral resources and why does Trump want them?
Wednesday 5 February 2025 08:30
,
Alexander Butler
British medic loses arm and leg in strike in Ukraine
Wednesday 5 February 2025 08:10
,
Alexander Butler
Ukraine's military shoots down 57 out of 104 drones launched by Russia overnight
Wednesday 5 February 2025 07:50
,
Arpan Rai
The Ukrainian military said that Russia launched 104 drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight.
Of that number, the Ukrainian air force shot down 57 and 42 drones did not reach their targets likely due to electronic warfare, the military said.
Lammy in Kyiv as UK announces £55m to boost Ukraine's resilience
Wednesday 5 February 2025 07:21
,
Arpan Rai
Foreign secretary David Lammy has announced a £55m package of support aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s resilience, during a visit to Kyiv amid uncertainty about the future of the war.
The UK will commit £17m to support sustainable energy projects within the country, as part of efforts to help it recover from the damage wrought by Russia’s attacks on its key infrastructure.
A further £3m is being provided for deliveries of Ukrainian grain and other food produce to Syria, as it grapples with the upheaval following the collapse of the Assad regime.
Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy grid could cause nuclear accident, warns UN nuclear chief
Wednesday 5 February 2025 06:55
,
Arpan Rai
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi warned that attacks on Ukraine's power grid could pose a risk of a nuclear accident by disrupting supply.
He arrived in Kyiv yesterday and inspected an electricity distribution substation.
“I’m at Kyivska electrical substation—an important part of Ukraine’s power grid essential for nuclear safety.A nuclear accident can result from a direct attack on a plant, but also from power supply disruption. @IAEAorg is here to assess impact, support, & help prevent that risk,” he wrote on X.
Mr Grossi posted pictures of him visiting the substation alongside energy minister German Galushchenko, and being shown what appeared to be defences against Russian strikes.
Moscow has regularly bombarded Ukraine's energy infrastructure, including substations, throughout its nearly three-year-old invasion, although it has avoided direct strikes on Ukraine's nuclear plants.
Inside the operations that took captive North Korean soldiers fighting Ukraine
Wednesday 5 February 2025 06:44
,
Arpan Rai
When Ukrainian soldiers captured two North Korean prisoners of war last month, it provided the first undeniable proof of Pyongyang’s direct involvement in the war against Ukraine.
It also shed some light on the mindset and training of the conscripted North Korean soldiers sent to fight Russia’s war a continent away from their home.
Highly disciplined, ready to die but also very young and with little battlefield experience they elicited curiosity and even some pity from the Ukrainian soldiers who captured them during two separate missions on 9 January.
Photos: UN nuclear chief meets Zelensky in Kyiv
Wednesday 5 February 2025 06:14
,
Arpan Rai
Mapped: Where are Ukraine's rare earth mineral resources and why does Trump want them?
Wednesday 5 February 2025 05:49
,
Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump has announced he wants Ukraine to pay for financial and military support by affording Washington access to the country’s vast but untapped rare earth minerals.
He said on Monday he wants “equalisation” from Ukraine for the US’ “close to $300 billion” in support.
“We're telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths,” Mr Trump said. “We're looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they're going to secure what we're giving them with their rare earths and other things.”
The Kremlin jumped on the comments, saying it demonstrated the US is no longer willing to provide free aid to Kyiv, before adding, unsurprisingly, that it was against Mr Trump giving any help to Ukraine whatsoever.
Europe must be present at negotiations to end war, says Zelensky
Wednesday 5 February 2025 05:45
,
Arpan Rai
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview broadcast yesterday that Ukraine was prepared to proceed along a diplomatic track to end the nearly three-year-old war against Russia.
"If people believe we must move to the diplomatic track, and I believe we are ready to move to the diplomatic track, there must be us, Europe... and Russia," he said in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.
Zelensky responds to Putin's claims to not hold talks with an 'illegitimate' president
Wednesday 5 February 2025 05:17
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to Vladimir Putin’s claims that his Ukrainian presidency is illegitimate and said that Ukraine cannot hold elections due to Russian invasion.
The Russian president Vladimir Putin has repeatedly dismissed Mr Zelensky as a participant in any talks, saying he had failed to submit to elections when his term in office ended in May 2024.
Ukraine has said no election is legally possible while martial law remains in force. In the interview yesterday, Mr Zelensky rejected the Kremlin's argument, saying he was elected in 2019 with 73 per cent of the vote.
"I have always been open to elections. But during a war, elections require constitutional changes and serious legal adjustment," he said.
"The key issue isn't just legal - it's human. How will soldiers in trenches vote? What about millions of Ukrainians in occupied territories. Do their voices no longer matter? And what about eight million Ukrainians forced abroad by war?"
Zelensky says ready to speak with 'enemy' Putin: 'I will not be kind to him'
Wednesday 5 February 2025 04:13
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to negotiate the end of the Ukraine war with Russian president Vladimir Putin if it is the only method to bring peace to Ukraine.
"If that is the only set-up in which we can bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine and not lose people, definitely, we will go for this set-up for the meeting,” he told British journalist Piers Morgan yesterday.
"We will be speaking with Putin. Even the conversation with Putin is a compromise," Mr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president said his personal stance towards the Russian leader does not matter in the present situation.
"I will not be kind to him. I consider him an enemy. And to be honest, I believe he considers me an enemy as well," Mr Zelensky said.
Presenting the present battlefield scenario, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine is currently unable to reclaim all its territories and "cannot lose millions of people for the result that is not yet clear will ever happen".
Over 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in Ukraine war, says Zelensky
Wednesday 5 February 2025 04:07
,
Arpan Rai
Ukraine has lost more than 45,000 soldiers on the battlefield since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The death toll from the Ukrainian president is a rare statement presented about the battlefield losses, which has been treated as a state secret by both sides – Kyiv and Moscow.
Mr Zelensky said that Ukraine has suffered at least 45,100 deaths and a total of 390,000 injured in the war, in an interview with Piers Morgan.
The war-time president has said previously that approximately half of the soldiers wounded later return to fighting.
Ukraine claims Russia has suffered at least 842,390 casualties in the war, a figure Moscow has not confirmed.
US aid freeze puts at risk Ukraine’s wartime help for frontline evacuees
Wednesday 5 February 2025 04:00
,
Tom Watling
Oil depot on fire after drone attack in Russia's Krasnodar
Wednesday 5 February 2025 03:58
,
Arpan Rai
A drone attack by Ukraine sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia's Krasnodar region, the governor of the region in southern Russia said early today.
"The fire has been contained, there are no casualties," Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram.
He said that 55 people and 19 units of equipment were involved in extinguishing the fire.
Russian attacks near Ukrainian nuclear sites raise concerns
Wednesday 5 February 2025 02:01
,
Tom Watling
Trump demands Ukraine give earth minerals to US as payment for war aid
Wednesday 5 February 2025 00:01
,
Tom Watling
British medic loses arm and leg in strike in Ukraine
Tuesday 4 February 2025 23:00
,
Tom Watling
Ex-Tory MP joins Ukraine’s foreign legion to aid fight against Putin
Tuesday 4 February 2025 22:01
,
Tom Watling
Mapped: Russia-Ukraine frontline
Tuesday 4 February 2025 21:01
,
Tom Watling
US aid freeze puts at risk Ukraine’s wartime help for frontline evacuees
Tuesday 4 February 2025 20:01
,
Tom Watling
Mapped: Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine
Tuesday 4 February 2025 19:01
,
Tom Watling
British teenager killed ‘minutes into first mission’ in Ukraine
Tuesday 4 February 2025 18:00
,
Tom Watling
Zelensky says his team already had contacts with Trump's Ukraine envoy
Tuesday 4 February 2025 17:08
,
Tom Watling
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said his team has already been in contact with Washington's top Ukraine official Keith Kellogg and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and there were “working dates” for an American delegation to visit.
Commenting on US president Donald Trump’s interest in Ukrainian rare earth minerals, Mr Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv that Ukraine was open to investment by American companies.
New Belgian PM: Belgium will continue to support Ukraine
Tuesday 4 February 2025 16:32
,
Tom Watling
Belgium will continue to support Ukraine, new Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Tuesday as he delivered his policy statement to parliament.
His coalition government was sworn in on Monday, after almost eight months of negotiations.
In pictures: Inside a damage building in Izyum, northeast Ukraine
Tuesday 4 February 2025 16:03
,
Tom Watling
UPD: Five killed and more than 50 wounded in Izyum strike
Tuesday 4 February 2025 15:49
,
Tom Watling
A Russian strike killed five civilians and wounded 55 on Tuesday in the town of Izium in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, partially destroying the city council building, officials said in an update.
Ukraine says it hit Russian command post in Kursk region
Tuesday 4 February 2025 15:30
,
Tom Watling
Ukraine's military said on Tuesday its air force had struck a Russian military command post in Russia's Kursk region the previous day.
"The facility sustained significant damage, leading to substantial casualties among enemy personnel," the general staff said on Telegram.
The Independent could not independently verify the statement.
Ukraine's military has reported numerous strikes on Russian military and energy facilities in recent weeks. Ukrainian forces have been battling Russian troops in the Kursk region since Ukraine mounted a cross border operation there last year.
Russian strategic bombers conduct flight over Barents and Norwegian seas, RIA reports
Tuesday 4 February 2025 15:00
,
Tom Watling
Two Russian TU-95MS strategic bombers conducted a routine flight over the Sea of Barents and Norwegian Sea, state-run RIA news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Russian Defence Ministry.
Strategic bomber planes, which form part of Russia's nuclear deterrent, have also made flights in recent months over the Black and Baltic Seas as well as the Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan.
Russia uses such flights to maintain force readiness and project strength at a time of heightened East-West confrontation because of the war in Ukraine.
IAEA chief, in Kyiv, warns of nuclear risk from attacks on Ukraine grid
Tuesday 4 February 2025 14:38
,
Tom Watling
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday and inspected an electricity distribution substation, warning that attacks on Ukraine's power grid could pose a risk of nuclear accident by disrupting supply.
"I’m at Kyivska electrical substation,” an i