Kyiv, Ukraine –
Residents of two villages in Russia’s Belgorod region on Ukraine’s northeastern border were evacuated after a fire broke out in an ammunition depot near the village of Timonovo, the region’s governor said on Friday.
There were no casualties in the Thursday night fire, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The fire came days after another ammunition depot exploded in Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, Russian-occupied territory that Moscow seized in 2014.
Last week, nine Russian warplanes were reported to have been destroyed at an air base in Crimea, demonstrating both the vulnerability of the Russians and the ability of the Ukrainians to strike deep behind enemy lines. The Ukrainian authorities have not publicly claimed responsibility.
But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alluded to Ukrainian attacks behind enemy lines after the explosions in Crimea, which Russia blamed on “sabotage”.
Meanwhile, Kyiv and Moscow continued to accuse each other of bombing Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, stoking international fears of a catastrophe on the continent.
On Friday, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, accused the United States of encouraging Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. The facility has been controlled by Russian forces since shortly after the invasion began on February 24.
“In the event of a technological disaster, its consequences will be felt in all corners of the world,” Patrushev said. “Washington, London and their cronies will take full responsibility for that.”
Ukraine accused Russia of storing troops and weapons at the Zaporizhzhia plant and using its land to launch attacks against Ukrainian-controlled territory. Ukrainian officials and military analysts say Moscow forces have cynically used the plant as a shield, knowing the Ukrainians would hesitate to return fire.
Russia has denied the accusations and, in turn, accused Ukrainian forces of repeatedly bombing the plant.
Following a visit to Ukraine on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had been asked by Zelenskyy to ensure Russia removed weapons stored at the plant as an “important step for world peace.”
“Zelenskyy especially asked us for this: for Russia to remove all mines and similar (weapons) there and for the problem to stop being scary quickly. Because he is a threat,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan, whose country has maintained close relations with both Ukraine and Russia, said he would discuss the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying “Russia must do its part in this regard.”
The Turkish president made the remarks to a group of Turkish journalists on his return from a visit with Zelenskyy and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Ukraine on Thursday night. His comments were reported by Turkey’s state Anadolu Agency and other media on Friday.
At the meeting in the western city of Lviv, far from the front lines, the leaders discussed expanding prisoner-of-war exchanges and arranging for UN atomic energy experts to visit and help secure the nuclear power plant.
IN OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
— At least five people were killed and 10 others wounded in Russian shelling of towns and villages in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to regional authorities. The shelling damaged residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in the beleaguered region where Russian forces are pushing to seize areas still held by Ukraine.
— At least one civilian was killed early Friday in Russian shelling of the city of Kharkiv in the northwestern Donetsk region, while Russian missiles in the southern port city of Mykolaiv hit the streets again. port facilities and a university building that had previously been hit by shelling. earlier this week. One person was injured in the attacks, authorities said.