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Russia Says Ukraine Hit Tuapse Refinery Reservoir, Setting it Ablaze

A firefighter is seen on a site, as smoke billows from a fire at oil refinery, owned by Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft, in Moscow, Russia, November 17, 2018. (Reuters)
A firefighter is seen on a site, as smoke billows from a fire at oil refinery, owned by Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft, in Moscow, Russia, November 17, 2018. (Reuters)
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Russia Says Ukraine Hit Tuapse Refinery Reservoir, Setting it Ablaze

A firefighter is seen on a site, as smoke billows from a fire at oil refinery, owned by Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft, in Moscow, Russia, November 17, 2018. (Reuters)
A firefighter is seen on a site, as smoke billows from a fire at oil refinery, owned by Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft, in Moscow, Russia, November 17, 2018. (Reuters)

A Ukrainian attack set ablaze a gasoline tank at Russia's Tuapse oil complex on the shores of the Black Sea, Veniamin Kondratiev, the governor of the Krasnodar region, said on Friday, while no one was hurt.
As many as 121 firefighters were battling to put out the flames, Kondratiev added, without saying if the refinery was hit by a drone or missile, reported Reuters.
In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up reciprocal drone attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure.
The export-oriented Tuapse plant, which has processing capacity of 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, produces naphtha, fuel oil, vacuum gasoil and high-sulphur diesel, mainly supplying China, Malaysia, Singapore and Türkiye.

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Trump and Putin Will Speak This Week on Russia-Ukraine War, US Envoy Says

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Trump and Putin Will Speak This Week on Russia-Ukraine War, US Envoy Says

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week as the US tries to broker a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff.

It would be the second publicized call between the two leaders since Trump began his second term in January. Trump and Putin spoke in February and agreed to start high-level talks over ending the war in Ukraine.

“I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week,” Witkoff said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Witkoff this week met with Putin in Russia for talks aimed at ending the country’s invasion of Ukraine and said he expects to see a deal soon.

“The president uses the timeframe weeks and I don’t disagree with him. I am really hopeful that we are going to see some real progress here,” Witkoff said.

When Witkoff appeared later Sunday on CBS' “Face the Nation,” he again spoke about a prospective Putin-Trump call but did not offer specifics on what decisions might be made coming out of the discussion.

Witkoff said they forged a relationship in Trump’s first term and that he expects the call this week to be “very positive and constructive.”

Trump's first call to Putin came after Witkoff traveled to Russia to bring home Marc Fogel, an American history teacher the US had deemed wrongfully detained.

One day after the prisoner swap, Trump announced that he spoke to Putin and said their call was “lengthy and highly productive.”

Witkoff demurred on whether Putin and Trump will decide in the call to move forward with a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire. Ukraine has agreed to the deal. Putin has said he agrees in principle with the proposal but there are details to be worked out.

“President Trump is the ultimate decision maker, our decision maker, and President Putin, for the country of Russia, is their decision maker,” Witkoff said. “I think it’s a very positive sign that the two of them will be talking at some point. I think that’s showing that there’s positive momentum.”

Witkoff also brushed aside a recent assessment from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said in a statement that Russia “does not seem to be sincerely seeking peace” and that Putin was intensifying the fighting before negotiating.

Witkoff said he was not aware of Macron's comments but said, “it’s unfortunate when people make those sort of assessments” when “they don’t have necessarily firsthand knowledge.”

“I know what I heard, the body language I witnessed,” Witkoff said of his meeting with Putin. “I saw a constructive effort, over a long period of time to discuss the specifics of what’s going on in the field.”