Ukraine, for its part, announced that it had struck an oil depot in Engels, in southwest Russia, during the night, causing a fire in which two firefighters died, according to local authorities. “Thirteen dead following the enemy strike on Zaporizhia,” the region’s governor, Ivan Fedorov, said on Telegram, revising upwards a previous toll. He published photos showing bodies lying in the street and burning cars, without specifying where the bombing took place.
According to various reports provided by local authorities, the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Interior Ministry, this strike also left between 32 and 63 injured. “The Russians hit Zaporizhia with aerial bombs. (…) There is nothing more cruel than launching aerial bombardments on a city knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer,” Mr. Zelensky reacted on Facebook. In his daily address, he denounced an “absolutely deliberate strike by the Russian army”, calling on the United States and Europeans to “maintain unity” against Moscow. Mr. Zelensky also announced that he would take part in a “Ramstein format” meeting on Thursday with Ukraine’s main allies in Germany. He said he planned “talks with partners at the level of defense ministers and military commanders”.
“Strengthen the defense”. “The main thing for Ukraine is to continue to strengthen its anti-aircraft defense, in order to at least allow it to keep Russian military planes away from its cities and its borders,” argued Mr. Zelensky. The Russian army has intensified its attacks on southern Ukraine in recent months and increased its strikes on Zaporizhia, a city which had 700,000 inhabitants before the war. Two Russian strikes, on December 6 and 10, 2024, left 10 and 11 people dead, respectively, and more than 40 injured.
Since November, Ukraine has feared an offensive towards this city which is approximately 35 kilometers from Russian positions and 50 kilometers from the nuclear power plant of the same name, occupied by Russia since 2022. This strike takes place while the army Russian forces continue their advance in the east of the country, and clashes continue in the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces occupy several hundred square kilometers. Both camps are working to cement their positions before the return to the White House of Donald Trump on January 20, who has said he wants to work to end the war as soon as he takes office.
Oil depot on fire. For its part, the General Staff of the Ukrainian army said on Wednesday that it had struck an oil depot in Engels, in the Russian region of Saratov, during the night, claiming that this site supplied fuel to the Engels military airfield. 2, “where the enemy strategic aviation is based”. Two Russian firefighters died while fighting the fire started by this strike, the governor of this region located 500 km from the Ukrainian border and already affected by attacks in the past announced on Telegram. The governor, Roman Boussarguine, said that the fire brigade operation was continuing and that the size of the fire had increased.
-The attack on the depot “creates serious logistical problems for Russian strategic aviation” and “significantly reduces its ability to strike peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian sites,” said the Ukrainian General Staff. kyiv claims to be targeting military sites or sites used by the army, in particular oil depots, in response to the massive strikes which have regularly devastated its territory since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Ukrainian bombings also regularly cause civilian casualties in Russia, particularly in border regions. Russian Telegram channels reported that residents said explosions had been heard in Engels and shared footage showing a large fire topped by a column of smoke.
Ukrainian police also said on Wednesday that two people were killed and five others injured following Russian artillery and drone bombardments against the southern region of Kherson. Two people were also killed and two injured in a Russian bombing of Stepnogirsk, in the neighboring Zaporizhia region, according to its governor, Ivan Fedorov. In total, Russia launched 64 combat drones against Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said, claiming to have shot down 41 of them.
© Agence France-Presse
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