Russian Firefighters Extinguish Sochi Oil Depot Blaze After Ukrainian Drone Attack, Authorities Say

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, a firefighter puts out the fire after a Russian drone hit the market in the town of Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, a firefighter puts out the fire after a Russian drone hit the market in the town of Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
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Russian Firefighters Extinguish Sochi Oil Depot Blaze After Ukrainian Drone Attack, Authorities Say

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, a firefighter puts out the fire after a Russian drone hit the market in the town of Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, a firefighter puts out the fire after a Russian drone hit the market in the town of Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)

A Ukrainian drone attack caused two oil tanks to catch fire at an oil depot in Sochi in southern Russia, but the blazes were later extinguished, local authorities said on Sunday. 

Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of the surrounding Krasnodar region, said more than 120 firefighters were deployed. 

The Russian defense ministry said its air defence units destroyed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one over the Krasnodar region and 60 over the waters of the Black Sea. 

The ministry reports only how many drones its units destroy, not how many Ukraine launched. 

Rosaviatsia, Russia's civil aviation authority, briefly halted flights at Sochi's airport before resuming them. 

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which has staged frequent attacks on infrastructure inside Russia that Kyiv deems key to Moscow's war efforts. 

A woman was killed in the Adler district of Sochi in a Ukrainian drone attack late last month, but attacks on the city, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, have been infrequent in the war that Russia launched in February 2022. 

The Krasnodar region is home to the Ilsky refinery near the city of Krasnodar, among the largest in southern Russia and a frequent target of Ukraine's drone attacks. 

Also on Sunday, the governor of Voronezh region in southern Russia said four people were injured in a Ukrainian drone strike that caused several fires, while Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv, according to the military administration of the Ukrainian capital. 

The Russian defense ministry said that its units destroyed 18 Ukrainian drones over the Voronezh region that borders Ukraine. 



NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
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NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File

Ukraine is still getting essential defense equipment despite the war in the Middle East, which is depleting stockpiles in Europe and the United States, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Thursday.

"The good news is that essential equipment into Ukraine continues to flow," he told reporters. That included American-made Patriot missile interceptors, which Ukraine desperately needs, he added, AFP reported.

The PURL program, launched last year, allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries.

Some 75 percent of the missiles used by Patriot batteries in Ukraine have been supplied through the program, and 90 percent of the munitions used by other air-defense systems, Rutte added.

Rutte called on European countries to increase their own production capacity.

"They need to produce more extra production lines, extra shifts, opening new factories. The money is there," he said.


Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
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Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)

Germany's foreign minister Thursday said it was encouraging if the United States was talking directly to Iran to end the war in the Middle East, but Washington should make its intentions clear.

"I hear that there are signs that the US is speaking directly to Iran. I think that this is encouraging and this is welcome," Johann Wadephul told reporters before heading into the meeting of G7 foreign ministers outside Paris, AFP reported.

With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to join the discussions from Friday, he added: "For the German government it is of great importance to know precisely what our American partners are intending."


US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The United States has sent Iran a "15-point action list" as a basis for negotiations to end the current conflict, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, adding that there are signs that Tehran was interested in making a deal.

 

Witkoff, speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, said that the nascent talks could be successful if the Iranians realize there were no good alternatives - a realization Tehran might be coming to, he argued, Reuters reported.

 

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction," Witkoff told reporters.

 

"We have strong signs that this is a possibility."

 

Witkoff said Pakistan had been acting as a mediator, confirming statements from Pakistani officials.