Ukraine’s military warned on Sunday that a suspected Ukrainian drone strike that started a massive fire at a Crimean oil depot in the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol was a precursor to a long-awaited spring offensive.
Russia’s occupation governor, Mikhail Razvojev, blamed the fire on Saturday on a Ukrainian drone, and footage on social media showed the flames burning at a storage facility in Kozacha Bay. He said there were no reports of injuries.
The Ukrainian military, as usual after an attack on Russia, did not claim direct responsibility, but its spokeswoman, Natalia Homenyuk, came close.
“This action is preparation for a massive, massive attack that everyone is expecting,” Homenyuk said. Ukraine Pravda.
The attack came a day after Russia bombed Ukraine with more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones, killing at least 23 people. Most of the deaths occurred in an apartment building in the city of Uman, in central Ukraine.
Andrei Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, told RBC Ukraine that the Crimean strike was “God’s punishment … this punishment will be long-term”. He warned Crimeans to stay away from sites that support the “aggressor army”.
A Russian military blogger based in Sevastopol reported that two Ukrainian drones destroyed four fuel tanks Study for the Institute of War he said in her latest assessment of the war. Another Russian military blogger reported that at least 10 drones carried out the attack but most of them were shot down. The head of the occupation of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said that the attack did not result in any casualties.
Russia occupied Crimea for nine years. Since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to expel Russian forces from all of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea.
Developments:
Ukrainian forces bombed the city of Nova Kakhovka, according to authorities installed by Moscow in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s southern Kherson province. Officials said “heavy artillery fire” cut off electricity to the city.
Ukraine is preparing to boycott next week’s World Judo Championships after the International Judo Federation indicated it would allow Russian and Belarusian competitors to enter the event, a major Olympic qualifier.
Russian missile strikes kill 23:Updates: The attack was among the deadliest in months
Ukraine: Residents of occupied regions can obtain Russian passports in order to ‘survive’
Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said on Sunday that Ukrainians living in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine should “make a decision to survive” and register for Russian passports. Otherwise, people must leave the occupied territories “in any way possible,” the ombudsman told Kyiv Independent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree last week allowing the deportation of Ukrainians who refuse Russian citizenship. Ukrainians who choose to keep their Ukrainian citizenship after July 1, 2024 can be deported. They also face arrest, Lubinets said, which turns them into “a separate category of civilian hostages.”
Lubinets said: “This decree aims to legalize the forced ‘passport’.
Moscow vows a “very harsh” response to the school’s evacuation of embassies
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sunday that Moscow would give a “very harsh” response to the confiscation of the Russian embassy school in Poland.
Polish authorities ordered the Russian staff out on Saturday, saying the building was part of Warsaw’s City Hall. Moscow described the evacuation as illegal. Russia’s ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev told TASS that school staff were moving equipment out of the building on Sunday and that an alternative site had been obtained. Andreev said that lessons will resume after the May holidays on May 10.
Zakharova told Russia’s TV1 channel that “Warsaw will receive retaliatory steps… This is their choice, and we will respond.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
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