Russia’s war on Ukraine latest: New drone attack on southern Russia refinery

A drone strike on the Ilsky oil refinery in southern Russia, the second in two days, has caused a fire, according to the TASS news agency, citing emergency personnel.

WAGNER * Standing in a field of bodies, Russian mercenary lord Yevgeny Prigozhin released an expletive-laden video in which he personally blamed top defense chiefs for the losses incurred by his Wagner Group militants in Ukraine.

FIGHTING * According to a Friday morning dispatch from the Ukrainian military leadership, 18 of 24 drones launched by Russian forces were shot down. According to the report, the Russian military launched 10 missile strikes on the cities of Kramatorsk and Zaporizhzhia, as well as 75 airstrikes and dozens of rocket attacks.

* The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ General Staff announced Thursday evening that nearly 50 Russian strikes were repulsed along the main front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine. According to the report, the most intense fighting is still taking place in Bakhmut and Maryinka, further south in the Donetsk region.

* Reuters was unable to independently verify the battlefield accounts.

* According to TASS, record high water levels in southern Ukraine could flood a key dam and threaten parts of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.

DIPLOMACY/POLITICS * According to the Turkish Defense Minister, technical professionals from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations will meet on Friday to explore a deal that will allow Ukrainian crops to be exported across the Black Sea.

* During a visit to Brazil, the United States’ Ambassador to the United Nations urged the government to include Ukraine in any endeavor to end the war. She was alluding to President Lula da Silva’s remarks for the West to cease arming Ukraine in order for peace talks to begin.

QUOTES * “I don’t think they made it to the Kremlin… Our Putin is fantastic. Nothing ever threatens him,” says Zifa, a Moscow resident.

* “We all want to see a different Vladimir here in The Hague, one who deserves to be sanctioned for his criminal actions here, in the capital of international law” – Zelenskiy

NEW IN-DEPTH STORIES

* INSIGHT-Ukraine’s nuclear pact with Cameco of Canada involves significant risks and rewards.

* ANALYSIS-Kremlin event provides Putin with cover to escalate the conflict

* COLUMN-A global arms competition may decide the Ukraine war

* Liberated communities provide an insight inside Ukraine’s shaky health-care system.