Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin bombs own gas pipeline to sabotage Trump ceasefire deal, Kyiv says

A huge fire has broken out at a Russian gas and pumping station after it was rocked by a major explosion.

The facility in Sudzha is in Russia’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine.

It was once used by Gazprom to export gas to Europe from Russia visa Ukraine, until Kyiv decided to end the agreement in January this year.

The Kursk region has been a key area in the war between Russia in Ukraine.

In August 2024, Ukraine launched an incursion into the region and captured an estimated 1,300 square kilometers of land, including the town of Sudzha.

However in recent weeks, Putin’s troops have re-captured much of the region.

Ukraine has accused Russia of repeatedly bombing its own gas pipeline in order to blame Kyiv amid a proposed energy ceasefire.

A large cloud of smoke has gathered above a pipeline in Sudzha, in Russia’s Kurk region.

The gas pumping and measuring station has been used as a hub to transport Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine.

A huge fire broke out at the facility following a major explosion, but Ukraine has called accusations it carried out the attack “baseless”. .

“On the contrary, the mentioned station has been repeatedly shelled by the russians themselves,” Ukraine’s general staff said.

It added: “Russians continue to create numerous fakes and seek to mislead the international community.

“We urge you to trust only official sources, verify information and do not succumb to manipulation.”

The Czech President was in Odesa when the city was pounded by Russian drones.

Ukrainian officials said Petr Pavel has visited the country’s Black Sea port on Thursday prior to the attacks, which have sparked fires across the city.

"Significantly, it was during our meeting that the enemy once again massively attacked the Odesa region," Odesa Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messenger app.

"This is another reminder for the whole world: the war is on and Ukraine continues to fight."

Russia launched 214 drones in an overnight attack on Thursday, Ukraine has said.

Kyiv’s air force said its defences shot down 114 of the drones, and said another 81 were “lost”, in reference to the Ukrainian military using electronic warfare to redirect them.

Ed Miliband has been asked by Sky News whether a new focus on air and sea forces by the Prime Minister as he met military planners on Thursday signalled he was withdrawing from his pledge to place British boots on the ground in Ukraine.

Mr Miliband said: “I think people are over-interpreting what the Prime Minister said yesterday.

“Look, I think work is obviously ongoing on the terms of a ceasefire and the protection that will be put in place to protect that ceasefire and to protect the people of Ukraine. That operational planning, that military planning, is ongoing.

“You wouldn’t expect me to get into the detail of that, but I don’t think people should jump to conclusions.

“That planning is an ongoing process and obviously is one going on in concert with our allies, and indeed in concert with Ukraine and the government of Ukraine.”

Ukrainian emergency services are battling blazes in Ukraine’s port city of Odesa after overnight Russian drone strikes.

Three people have been injured in the attack which sparked fires in three locations.

The regional governor said a high-rise apartment building and a shopping centre had also been damaged in the attack which triggered power cuts across the city.

Odesa has been a frequent target of Russian attacks in the more than three-year-old war, particularly the city's port facilities.

Authorities in Russia's Krasnodar region said they have detected high levels of harmful chemicals in the air near where workers are scrambling to extinguish a blaze, Interfax news agency said.

An explosion rocked an oil depot after a Ukrainian drone attack earlier this week, regional authorities said on Friday.

The fire spread to another tank, and the fire area increased to 10,000 square metres (108,000 square feet), they added – more than twice the original area of the blaze.

More than 450 firefighters were trying to tackle it, and two had been injured.

"During the extinguishing process, due to depressurisation of the burning tank, there was an explosion of oil products and release of burning oil," officials said on the Telegram messaging app.

Donald Trump has floated the idea of taking control of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, in a phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The conversation on Wednesday was described as positive by both sides and was mainly aimed at securing a truce between Ukraine and Russia on aerial attacks against one another’s energy infrastructure.

Mr Zelensky suggested the call had focused on the US takeover of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is under Russian control.

My colleague Tom Watling takes a look: