Ukraine-Russia war latest: Major fire at Crimea’s largest oil depot forces Russia to declare emergency

Russia has sentenced a 72-year-old American citizen to nearly seven years in prison after convicting him of serving as a mercenary in Ukraine.

The Russian court said Stephen James Hubbard was paid £800 a month to serve in a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in Izyum, eastern Ukraine, where had had been living since 2014.

Hubbard was a native of Michigan, United States, and pleaded guilty to the charge, according to Russian state media.

Missile debris came down in three districts of the Ukrainian capital during rush hour on Monday morning after air defences engaged and repelled a Russian strike, city authorities said.

No major damage or casualties were reported from the attack in which Russia fired hypersonic Kinzhal missiles at Kyiv, Serhiy Popko, head of the city military administration, said, citing a preliminary assessment.

Debris damaged the roof of a multi-storey residential building in the Solomianskyi district in the city’s west and one piece of debris came down on the territory of a school, Popko’s administration said.

A Russian fighter jet has shot down its own first stealthy armed drone in combat over Ukraine’s Donetsk, reports said.

The rare Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik, renowned as the Russian air force’s first stealthy armed drone was shot down after it apparently malfunctioned in Chasiv Yar town in eastern Ukraine.

Justin Bronk, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, called the incident a “stunningly embarrassing failure” for Russia.

The Ukrainian military said it struck an oil terminal in Russian-occupied Feodosia in Crimea overnight where a major explosion has been reported.

“The Feodosia terminal is the largest in Crimea in terms of transshipment of oil products, which were used, among other things, to meet the needs of the Russian occupation army,” Ukraine’s military said, claiming responsibility for the attack on the peninsula.

Ukrainian forces said they shot down a Russian fighter plane near the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk province.

It has now emerged that it was a prototype of Russia’s Hunter S-70 combat drone, according to local Ukrainian media.

According to reports, the drone was shot down either due to a loss of control or deliberately after it malfunctioned during the test flight.

Justin Bronk, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, called the incident a “stunningly embarrassing failure” for Russia.

Russian-appointed officials have announced a state of “technical” emergency has been introduced in Crimean’s Feodosia city this morning.

This comes within hours of a major explosion at an oil depot on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. The authorities did not provide details on what had caused the fire.

Several fuel tanks were reported to be on fire in Feodosia after residents heard a series of loud explosions, reported the Baza Telegram news channel, which has sources among Russia’s security services.

The attack could likely be caused by a Ukrainian drone as Russia’s air defence units confirmed aerial activity over Crimea.

At least 21 Ukrainian drones were destroyed overnight, the Russian defence ministry said. Of these, 12 drones were destroyed over the Crimean Peninsula, six over the Kursk region and the rest over the Belgorod, Bryansk and Voronezh regions.

“God save the Tsar!” was one of the first public birthday wishes for President Vladimir Putin who turns 72 today and who has been Russia’s paramount leader for nearly quarter of a century.

The greeting came from ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin on his Telegram channel minutes after midnight.

Mr Dugin, 62, has long advocated for the unification of Russian-speaking and other territories in a vast new Russian empire, which he wants to include Ukraine, where Russia has been waging a war. Mr Dugin’s daughter was killed in a suspected car bomb in 2022.

The Russian president was also wished by his close ally and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. “Today, friends, is the birthday of our national leader,” Mr Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic who calls himself Putin’s “foot soldier”, wrote in a congratulatory message on Telegram at midnight today.

“This is a significant day for our entire Fatherland.”