Ukraine Says it Sank Russian Submarine, Hit Airfield, Oil Depots

Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
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Ukraine Says it Sank Russian Submarine, Hit Airfield, Oil Depots

Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

Ukraine's military said on Saturday it had sunk a submarine in Russian-controlled Sevastopol, attacked a southern Russian airfield and hit oil depots and fuel and lubricant storage facilities in Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions.

"A Russian submarine went to the bottom of the Black Sea," the defense ministry said in a post on X, naming the vessel as the B-237 Rostov-on-Don attack submarine, Reuters reported.

The military's general staff said the attack on Sevastopol port also significantly damaged four launchers of the S-400 anti-aircraft "Triumf" defense system.

There was no immediate comment by Russia on the Sevastopol attack.

In other, overnight attacks, the military said it hit an ammunition depot at Morozovsk airfield where Russian forces stored guided aerial bombs among other equipment and a number of oil depots and fuel storage facilities.

"Russian combat aviation must be destroyed wherever it is, by all effective means. It is also quite fair to strike at Russian airfields. And we need this joint solution with our partners - a security solution," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The Ukrainian president has repeatedly called on his Western allies for permission to use their weapons for long-range attacks on Russia, in addition to striking military targets close to the border.

He said on Saturday that Russian forces had used over 600 guided aerial bombs to attack Ukraine in the past week.

The attack on oil depots and fuel and lubricant storage facilities in Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions set fire to at least two oil tanks, according to the Ukrainian military report.

In Russia, local officials reported that tanks at a fuel storage depot in the Kamensky district of Rostov region caught fire as a result of a drone attack.

The regional governor of Belgorod also said Ukraine-launched drones caused a fire at an oil storage depot there, adding that the fire was extinguished and no one was injured.

Ukraine has dramatically stepped up its use of long-range drones this year to attack Russian oil facilities, attempting to damage sites fueling Russian forces and the country's economy in Moscow's 29-month-old invasion.



Biden Voices Hope Iran Will Stand Down But is Uncertain

File Photo: President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo)
File Photo: President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo)
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Biden Voices Hope Iran Will Stand Down But is Uncertain

File Photo: President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo)
File Photo: President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo)

US President Joe Biden expressed hope Iran would stand down despite its threat to avenge the assassination of Hamas’ leader in Tehran, as fears mounted that Israel’s war against Palestinian militants in Gaza could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict.

Regional tensions have soared following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' top leader, on Wednesday, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran.

Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s killing, and they, together with Hezbollah, have vowed revenge. Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility, Reuters reported.

Asked by reporters whether Iran would stand down, Biden said on Saturday in response to a shouted question, "I hope so. I don't know."

Seeking to bolster defenses in the Middle East in response to threats from Israel’s foes, the Pentagon said on Friday it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the region.

Haniyeh's death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as the Gaza war nears its 11th month, and it fuelled concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.

Hamas said it had begun a "broad consultation process" to choose a new leader three days after the assassination of Haniyeh, who was the face of the group's international diplomacy.

The US and international partners including France, Britain, Italy and Egypt continued diplomatic contacts on Saturday seeking to prevent further regional escalation.

The US urged its citizens who wish to leave Lebanon to start making plans immediately, and the British government advised its nationals to “leave now.” Canada warned citizens to avoid all travel to Israel, saying the regional armed conflict endangered security.