While Russian President Vladimir Putin was visiting China, Ukraine launched the largest-ever kamikaze drone attack on Russia, killing two people and setting off a refinery fire in the Black Sea, officials said. did.
“51 unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed or intercepted over Crimea, 44 over Krasnodar Krai, six over Belgorod Krai and one over Kursk Krai,” the Russian military said in a press release. voice of america.
Waves of drones attacked several targets around the Belgorod region and along the Black Sea coast. Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a mother and child died while traveling in a car and that authorities had managed to extinguish the fire at the Tuapse refinery.
“The child was in critical condition. Doctors did everything possible to save him,” Gladkov said.
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Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvodzhaev announced that “we have decided to cancel classes in all schools, secondary vocational education institutions and kindergartens,” adding that regular power outages will continue as the region suffers from the attacks on Ukraine. I warned you.
A fire broke out at the Tuapse refinery near the Black Sea coast on Friday night after a large-scale drone attack. (East 2 West)
The Tuapse refinery has been undergoing repairs for several months after a fire in January, which Ukrainian sources at the time claimed was caused by another drone attack. . Reuters reported.
The refinery discharges approximately 12 million tonnes of fuel, including heavy oil, vacuum gas oil and high sulfur diesel, and supplies Turkey, China, Malaysia and Singapore.
The Ukrainian attack comes as Russia ramps up pressure on Kharkiv with a new offensive, but President Putin has said he had no intention of seizing the city and that the attack was instead an attempt to deter a Ukrainian attack. claims.
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President Putin visited China this week to appeal for support and emphasize the personal ties between the two countries. He thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for “substantive” discussions before attacking the United States and Ukraine.
An administration building bursts into flames after an attack on railway infrastructure by a Shahed-136 unmanned kamikaze drone in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 17, 2024. The air alert over Kharkov on May 16-17 was the longest since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The threat to the city lasted 16 hours and 33 minutes, according to the alert system. (Kostiantin Liberov/Rivkos/Getty Images)
“What is happening on the Kharkiv front is their own fault,” Putin told reporters in China on Friday, blaming Ukraine for attacks on Russian villages that forced him to retaliate.
“Civilians are dying there,” Putin said. “That is clear. They are firing directly into city centers and residential areas. And I have said publicly that if this situation continues, we will have no choice but to create a safe zone, a buffer zone. That’s what we’re doing.”
Putin insisted that the Moscow-Beijing partnership was a vital part of forming an “emerging multipolar world” and dismissed concerns that it was an alliance “directed at someone.” .
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“Its purpose is only one: to create better conditions for the development of our country and improve the well-being of the people of China and the Russian Federation,” Putin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold an informal meeting at Zhongnanhai Leadership Center in Beijing on May 16, 2024. (Mikhail Kostyantin Liberov/Rivkos/Getty Images)
Last week, it was reported that Ukraine had thwarted Russia’s attempt to invade Kharkov. At the time, White House Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters that people should expect Russia to “probably increase the intensity of the fire” and increase its deployment of troops to the region in the coming weeks. Ta.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged this week that Moscow’s forces had advanced nine miles into the Kharkov region, forcing Kiev to expand its operations to prevent further incursions into the country’s second city. The Telegraph reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
