Ukrainian drone attack on oil depot already violates proposed ceasefire – Russia

Russia on Thursday said that Ukraine had already violated a proposed ceasefire on energy sites in the three-year-old war by attacking a Russian oil depot.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, who stated this, said that it was up to the United States, which had proposed the ceasefire, to confront Ukraine over its actions.

The Kremlin said this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed in a call with his US counterpart Donald Trump to observe a 30-day ceasefire on energy targets.

The accord is said to have fallen short of a wider agreement that the US had sought, and which was accepted by Ukraine, for a blanket 30-day truce.

Regional authorities said on the Telegram messaging app that firefighters in southern Russia were still battling a blaze at an oil depot triggered by a Ukrainian drone attack.

“We believe that the Kyiv regime has already broken the ceasefire proposed by the U.S. president.

“Now the question is – you will forgive me – how is Washington going to handle this terrorist scum gone mad? How are they going to put them in their place and get them on to something like the right track,” Zakharova asked.

Ukrainian officials have also accused Russia of failing to align their actions with their pledges by launching attacks on civilian targets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Russian attacks on infrastructure, including hospitals and rail equipment, showed Putin's words are very different from reality.

Zakharova had, in earlier comments, described the attack on the oil depot as a provocation and an attempt by Ukraine to disrupt peace initiatives.

Authorities in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar said a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil depot near the village of Kavkazskaya.

The depot is a rail terminal for Russian oil supplies to a pipeline linking Kazakhstan to the Black Sea.

A statement issued by authorities in the Krasnodar region on Thursday evening said efforts were continuing to bring the blaze under control.

According to the statement, 429 firefighters and 174 pieces of equipment had been drafted to tackle the fire covering 3,750 sq m (40,400 sq ft).