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Drone strike sparks huge fire at Crimea fuel depot

Saturday, 29 April 2023 11:18 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 29 April 2023 11:29 AM ]

A view shows smoke rising following an alleged drone attack in Sevastopol, Crimea, April 29, 2023. (Photo by Reuters)

A drone strike has led to a massive fire at a fuel storage facility in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, its governor Mikhail Razvozhaev has said.

The fire was still burning, but it had been contained as firefighters reached the site, and no one was injured, Razvozhaev said on Saturday.

"According to preliminary information, it was caused by a drone strike," he added on the messaging app Telegram.

In a video posted on his Telegram channel, he said the four fuel tanks that were hit, are practically burnt out already.

The attack comes five days after Russian officials said they had fended off a drone attack by the Ukrainian military in the same area.

The Crimean Peninsula houses Moscow’s main naval base for its Black Sea fleet.

With newly supplied equipment from its Western allies, Ukrainian forces have announced their preparedness to launch new attacks.

Russia ‘repelled’ drone attack on Crimea port: Official

Russia says it “repelled” a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol in Crimea, noting that no damage or casualties were inflicted as the result.

The report comes amid a brewing dispute between Ukraine and the Europeans over the flood of Ukrainian grain into Europe.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it had passed notes to Polish and European Union representatives in Ukraine, describing the limiting of Ukrainian grain imports into EU countries as “categorically unacceptable”.

"Such restrictions, whatever the justification for them, do not comply with the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and the principles and norms of the EU Single Market," the ministry said.

"There are full legal grounds for the immediate resumption of exports of Ukrainian agricultural goods to Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, as well as the continuation of unhindered exports to other EU member states," it said.

With the intention of protecting their own farmers from cheaper Ukrainian grain and a massive amount of lying surplus, Ukraine’s neighbors, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania restricted imports of Ukrainian products earlier this month in response to a supply glut caused by disruption to exports through the Black Sea.

Romania on the other hand has not imposed its own restriction but has joined hands with the four other countries to call for a restriction at the EU level.

The Ukraine conflict has caused massive disruptions in Europe and within its trade ecosystem.

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Ukraine Russia Poland European Union Crimea Hungary Sevastopol Slovakia drone attack Bulgaria Crimean peninsula Mikhail Razvozhaev Grain imports Romania