A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a large fire at an oil depot in Russia’s southern region of Krasnodar as Kyiv continues its campaign of long-range attacks on things that help drive Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
It came as Russia and Ukraine swapped 150 prisoners of war each and UK foreign secretary David Lammy met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
A series of drone attacks by Ukraine on Russia’s energy facilities have sparked fires in recent days at a major oil refinery in the Volgograd region, as well as at the Astrakhan gas processing plant.
Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of the Krasnodar region, said that there were no injuries in the fire that was caused by falling drone debris. A team of 19 people wielding 19 items of equipment were fighting the flames, he said.
The region’s authorities later said a fire in a tank with oil product residues in the village of Novominskaya in the Kanevsky District had been “fully extinguished”
The Russian defence ministry said that four Ukrainian drones were destroyed over the Russian territory overnight, but did not mention the Krasnodar region in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
The Ukrainian military claimed responsibility for the strike and described the plant as being “involved in the supply of gasoline and diesel for the Russian occupation army”.
The governor of Russia’s Astrakhan region later came under fire after telling residents of the area’s main city, which is close to a huge gas chemical complex that was attacked by Ukrainian drones this week, not to panic despite being enveloped in a cloud of natural gas.
Governor Igor Babushkin said the gas that people could smell was the result of work to restart production at the plant after it was shut down as a result of the Ukrainian attack.
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky announced the return from Russian captivity of 150 soldiers in the latest swap between the countries. The deal was brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
“All of them are from different sectors of the front… Some of the boys were held captive for more than two years,” he said on the Telegram messaging app. “Seeing them home—alive and free—is true happiness.”
Photos showed the soldiers celebrating and holding up the “V” sign for victory as they were transported back into Ukrainian territory.
Back in the capital, Mr Lammy, announced a further £55 million in financial support to help put Ukraine in the “strongest position possible”.
During his visit, the second since he became foreign minister last year, Lammy met Mr Zelensky and other government figures to discuss how Britain and international partners can continue to support Ukraine.
Mr Lammy’s visit comes as Kyiv tries to establish close relations with the new administration of US President Donald Trump, who has said he wants to bring a quick end to the nearly three-year-old war with Russia.
“Our support for Ukraine remains unbreakable,” Lammy said. “We are determined to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, both in its fight against Russia and beyond.”
As part of the new financial package, £17 million will go to innovative energy projects, £10 million to help the recovery of Ukrainian businesses and £25 million to support family and community-based services, the foreign office said.
Britain has committed £977 million in support to Ukraine and the region since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. It has also committed to provide £3 billion of annual military support for as long as it is needed.
