Moscow official: Crimean fuel tank fire likely to be drone attack | News of the war between Russia and Ukraine

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Russia’s installed ruler Mikhail Razvogayev says on Telegram that a huge fire has broken out in Sevastopol.

A massive fire has broken out in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol following a possible drone attack on a fuel storage tank, Mikhail Razvogaev, Russia’s inaugural governor, wrote on Telegram.

“A fuel tank is burning… According to preliminary reports, a drone attack may have caused the fire,” he wrote early Saturday, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.

He said an area of ​​1,000 square meters (about 11,000 square feet) was set on fire.

Footage circulated on social media purporting to depict the fire showed flames engulfing fuel storage tanks and a thick column of black smoke rising over the city.

“The situation is under the control of firefighters and all executive services,” Razvogayev said, adding that no one was hurt. “Because the volume of fuel is large, it will take time to locate the fire.”

Ukraine has repeatedly stated its intention to regain Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 amid international outcry. The Ukrainian military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

An oil depot in Sevastopol caught fire after being hit by a drone in the early morning. pic.twitter.com/ll8zY2v8a2

– Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) April 29, 2023

On Monday, Razovugayev reported that the Russian military destroyed a Ukrainian surface drone that tried to attack the port in the early hours and that a second drone exploded. He added that the explosions shattered the windows of many residential buildings, but did not cause any other damage.

The attack is the latest in a series of attempted strikes on Sevastopol, the main naval base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. After previous attacks on Sevastopol and other regions, Ukrainian officials refrained from publicly claiming responsibility but did point to Ukraine’s right to strike any target in response to Russian aggression.

The fire in Sevastopol comes a day after a volley of Russian missiles hit residential areas in Ukraine, killing 25 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies to provide his forces with better air defences, including fighter jets.

“Air defense, modern air power – without which effective air defense is impossible – artillery, armored vehicles. Everything necessary to provide security for our cities, our villages, both in remote areas and on the front lines,” Zelensky stated in a video message Friday night.

He condemned the attack, which took place in the city of Uman in the early hours of Friday morning, which he said killed at least 23 people, including four children.

Officials said the missiles hit 10 residential buildings in Uman, Cherkassy region. One apartment block was destroyed. Eighteen people were wounded in the attack, nine of whom are receiving treatment in hospital.

And in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a woman and her two-year-old daughter were killed by Russian bombing at night.

“Russian evil can be stopped with weapons – our defenders do. It can be stopped with sanctions – global sanctions must be strengthened,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter earlier today.

On Friday, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army, Valery Zaluzhny, estimated the total number of missiles launched at Ukraine overnight at 23, and of these, 21 were shot down, along with two drones. The Ukrainian military said cruise missiles were launched near the capital, Kiev, and 11 of them were shot down by air defenses.

On Friday, local authorities reported that shelling in the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, which is controlled by Russia, killed seven people and injured 19 others.