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Ukrainian drones hit a Russian fuel depot for the second time this month

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Ukrainian drones hit a Russian fuel depot for the second time this month
News

News

Ukrainian drones hit a Russian fuel depot for the second time this month

2024-12-22 22:41 Last Updated At:22:50

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones struck a major Russian fuel depot for the second time in just over a week on Sunday, according to a senior Russian regional official, as part of a “massive” cross-border attack on fuel and energy facilities that Kyiv says supply Moscow's military.

The strikes came days after Russia launched sweeping attacks on Ukraine’s already battered energy grid, threatening to plunge thousands of homes into darkness as winter tightens its grip over the region, and as Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor nears the three-year mark.

A fire broke out at the Stalnoy Kon oil terminal in Russia’s southern Oryol region, local Gov. Andrey Klychkov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app, adding Russian forces downed 20 drones targeting “fuel and energy infrastructure” in the province.

Russian independent news outlet Astra shared video of what it said was an explosion at the site, showing a massive orange blaze lighting up the night sky. While the clip could not be independently verified, it was later shared by a Ukrainian security official who described it as footage from Oryol.

The official, Andriy Kovalenko of the Council of National Security and Defense, claimed the Oryol fuel depot supplies Russian forces fighting in Ukraine and southern Russia, including the Kursk province where Ukrainian troops have dug in following a lightning incursion in August.

According to Klychkov, the Russian local governor, the fire was extinguished hours later and did not cause casualties or “significant” damage.

Ukraine's military previously claimed to have struck the Stalnoy Kon terminal with drones on Dec. 14, causing a “powerful” blaze.

Other key war-related developments from Ukraine and Russia:

— Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday vowed retaliation after Ukrainian drones the day before struck residential buildings in the city of Kazan, in the Tatarstan region over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the front line. Speaking to Tatarstan's regional governor, Rustam Minnikhanov, Putin asserted that anyone attacking Russia has to reckon with Moscow inflicting “many times greater damage” in return, but did not elaborate. His remarks were carried by Russian state news agencies.

Minnikhanov's press service on Saturday said that eight drones attacked Kazan. Local authorities said there were no casualties.

— A 30-year-old man died on the spot Sunday in Ukraine's southern Kherson region after a Russian drone dropped explosives nearby, local Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported. Hours earlier, Prokudin said that two other civilians died as a result of Russian drone strikes on the province late on Saturday. A man in his late 40s suffered fatal injuries from a drone blast, and a woman was found dead under rubble after another drone slammed into her house.

— In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, a Russian drone strike Sunday severely injured a 56-year-old man as he walked down a road in the city of Kupiansk, local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov reported. He said the man would need to have at least one limb amputated as a result, but gave no further detail.

— In the Kyiv suburb of Brovary, debris from a Russian drone sparked a fire late on Saturday on the roof of a 25-story tower block, according to regional Gov. Ruslan Kravchenko. There were no immediate reports of any casualties.

— According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched 103 Iranian-made Shahed drones at its neighbor overnight into Sunday. Ukrainian air defense shot down 52 of the drones while another 44 failed to reach their targets, the force said in a statement, in a likely reference to electronic jamming.

— Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had intercepted 42 Ukrainian drones launched overnight at Russian territory. According to the ministry, 20 of those were over the Oryol region, where the local governor said a blaze tore through the oil terminal.

— Separately, Russian forces have continued grinding forward in Ukraine’s northeast, in addition to eking out gains near the eastern town of Kurakhove. On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its troops had captured two northeastern settlements: Lozova in the Kharkiv region and Krasne in the Luhansk province. There was no immediate confirmation from Kyiv.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks as he attends a ceremony to launch new air and road infrastructure facilities in various country's regions via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks as he attends a ceremony to launch new air and road infrastructure facilities in various country's regions via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

In this photo released by Official Telegram channel of the Kazan City Hall on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, a view of the damages at the residential complex called "Lazurnye Nebesa," or Azure Skies, in Kazan, Russia, following Ukrainian drone attacks. (Official Telegram channel of the Kazan City Hall via AP)

In this photo released by Official Telegram channel of the Kazan City Hall on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, a view of the damages at the residential complex called "Lazurnye Nebesa," or Azure Skies, in Kazan, Russia, following Ukrainian drone attacks. (Official Telegram channel of the Kazan City Hall via AP)

Hanna, 12, and her family sit ride inside a van during an evacuation from Pokrovsk, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Hanna, 12, and her family sit ride inside a van during an evacuation from Pokrovsk, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

DAMASCUS (AP) — A packed concert hall in Damascus came alive this week with cheers as Wasfi Maasarani, a renowned singer and symbol of the Syrian uprising, performed in celebration of “Syria’s victory."

The concert Wednesday marked Maasarani’s return to Syria after 13 years of exile. While living in Los Angeles, Maasarani had continued to support Syria’s uprising through his music, touring the U.S. and Europe.

The concert organized by the Molham Volunteering Team, a humanitarian organization founded by Syrian students, also marked a month since a lightning insurgency toppled former President Bashar Assad.

Revolutionary songs like those by Maasarani and Abdelbasset Sarout — a Syrian singer and activist who died in 2019 — played a key role in rallying Syrians during the nearly 14-year uprising-turned civil war starting in 2011.

Many opponents of Assad's rule, like Maasarani, had fled the country and were unsure if they would ever be able to come back.

In the dimly lit concert hall, the crowd’s phone lights flickered like stars, swaying in unison with the music as the audience sang along, some wiping away tears. The crowd cheered and whistled and many waved the new Syrian flag, the revolutionary flag marked by three stars. A banner held up in the hall read, “It is Syria the Great, not Syria the Assad.”

One of Maasarani's best known songs is “Jabeenak ’Ali w Ma Bintal,” which he first sang in 2012, addressing the Free Syrian Army. It was a coalition of defected Syrian military personnel and civilian fighters formed in 2011 to oppose Assad during the civil war.

“You free soldier, the Syrian eminence appears in his eyes, he refused to fire at his people, he refused the shame of the traitor army, long live you free army, protect my people and the revolutionaries,” the lyrics read.

Another banner in the audience read, “It is the revolution of the people and the people never fail.”

Between performances, Raed Saleh, the head of the civil defense organization known as the White Helmets, addressed the crowd, saying, “With this victory, we should not forget the families who never found their children in the prisons and detention centers.”

Thousands were tortured or disappeared under Assad’s government. After the fall of Assad, the White Helmets helped in the search for the missing.

After the concert, Maasarani told The Associated Press, “It’s like a dream” to return to Syria and perform his revolutionary songs.

“We were always singing them outside of Syria, experiencing the happy and sad moments from afar,” he said, adding that his role was to capture the atrocities on the ground through song, ensuring “they would be remembered in history.” He reflected on his years in exile and recalled surviving two assassination attempts before leaving Syria.

“We have not seen this state without Assad since I was born,” said Alaa Maham, a concert attendee who recently returned from the United Arab Emirates. “I cannot describe my feelings, I hope our happiness lasts.”

The future of Syria is still unclear, as the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, now the de facto ruling party, begins to form a new government and rebuild the country's institutions.

Whatever comes next, Maham said, “We got rid of the oppression and corruption with the fall of Assad and his family’s rule."

AlJoud reported from Beirut.

Syrians sing and hold a post-Assad flag during a concert by the recently returned "revolutionary" singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus late Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025..(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrians sing and hold a post-Assad flag during a concert by the recently returned "revolutionary" singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus late Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025..(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A fan holds a flare during a concert by the recently returned "revolutionary" singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus late Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025..(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A fan holds a flare during a concert by the recently returned "revolutionary" singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus late Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025..(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrians sing during a concert by the recently returned "revolutionary" singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus late Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025..(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrians sing during a concert by the recently returned "revolutionary" singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus late Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025..(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrians wave post-Assad flags during a concert by the recently returned "revolutionary" singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus late Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025..(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrians wave post-Assad flags during a concert by the recently returned "revolutionary" singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus late Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025..(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrians sing and wave post-Assad flags during a concert by the recently returned "revolutionary" singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus late Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025..(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrians sing and wave post-Assad flags during a concert by the recently returned "revolutionary" singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus late Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025..(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

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