A drone strike by Ukraine has caused a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s southern Volgograd region, according to regional authorities.
In a post on Telegram, the local governor Andrei Bocharov said there had been no casualties reported so far.
He did not specify damage, but said people living nearby may have to be evacuated.
The Ukrainian military said it had struck the Zhutovskaya oil depot overnight, which was reportedly supplying fuel to Russian forces.
The strike came a day after Russia attacked Ukraine using hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
For only the second time in the full-scale invasion which began in February 2022, Russia used an Oreshnik hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine on Friday, in a warning to Kyiv’s NATO allies.
Europe’s leaders condemned the Russian strike as “escalatory and unacceptable,” and Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the UN Security Council would hold an emergency meeting on 12 January to discuss the attack.
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Ukraine’s military has reported the missile reaching speeds of more than 8,000mph.
A senior Ukrainian official said the missile, which can carry nuclear as well as conventional warheads, struck a state enterprise in the western city of Lviv, about 40 miles from the border with NATO member Poland.
They added it was likely to have been carrying a “dummy” warhead – as in 2024 when Russia first fired it to test the weapon in war.
Moscow claimed the use of the weapon was in retaliation for the alleged targeting of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s residences by Ukraine, a claim that has been dismissed by US President Donald Trump, and Ukraine.
Russia is seeking to cripple the Ukrainian power grid, as it tries to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an attempt to “weaponise winter”.
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Ukraine has been targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure in recent months, trying to cut off Moscow’s ability to finance its military campaign against Kyiv with its oil export revenue.
The attacks came amid reports of significant progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further Moscow aggression if a US-led peace deal is struck.
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Earlier this week, the UK and France signed a joint declaration pledging to deploy troops to Ukraine in the event of such an agreement, to guarantee the nation’s security.
The agreement states that a “multinational force for Ukraine” would be deployed to the eastern European country to deter further attacks from Russia and bolster security guarantees.
This would also allow the Ukrainian armed forces to rebuild strength, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced.
