Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and guided bombs during the night, targeting multiple regions after the May 12 deadline for an unconditional ceasefire expired.
"Only member states can take out loans within the 150 billion euros instrument, but they can use these funds for joint procurement with Ukraine," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
Zelensky on May 12 removed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the top command and control body for all branches of Ukraine's defense apparatus.
Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
Alleged footage of a burning oil terminal in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, on April 24, 2024. (Open sources/X)
Drones of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) attacked two oil depots in Russia's Smolensk Oblast overnight, destroying 26,000 cubic meters of fuel, sources in law enforcement agencies told the Kyiv Independent on April 24.
Russian media and officials reported drone attacks in Smolensk Oblast, as well as in Lipetsk and Voronezh oblasts overnight, reportedly targeting energy and industrial facilities.
Footage of what was purported to be a burning oil terminal in Yartsevo, Smolensk Oblast, began circulating on social media.
The Kyiv Independent's sources said that Russia's state-controlled company Rosneft "lost two storage and pumping bases for fuel and lubricants in Yartsevo and Razdorovo in Smolensk Oblast."
According to the sources, the operation was carried out by SBU drones.
Some 26,000 cubic meters of Russian fuel were purportedly stored there. After the powerful explosions, a large-scale fire and personnel evacuation began at the facilities, the sources said.
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Ukraine Weekly By Olga Rudenko
"The SBU continues to effectively destroy the military infrastructure and logistics that provide fuel to the Russian army in Ukraine. These objects are and will remain our completely legitimate goals," the sources said.
Vasily Anokhin, the Smolensk Oblast governor, claimed there were no casualties as a result of the strike and that emergency services are working on the spot.
"As a result of the enemy attack on fuel and energy facilities, fires broke out in the Smolensk and Yartsevo districts," Anokhin wrote on his Telegram channel.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.
Igor Kossov
