Fire rages at oil depot behind Russian lines

A massive blaze broke out at an oil depot behind Russian lines local officials said on Wednesday while the Kremlinrsquos forces used 26 Iranianmade drones in another nighttime attack on Ukraine as the war stretched into its 15th month The oil depot erupted in flames in Russiarsquos southern Krasnodar region located east of the Russianheld Crimean Peninsula according to Krasnodar Governor Veniamin KondratyevHe didnrsquot say what caused the fire which was described as extremely difficult to put out But some Russian media outlets said it was likely caused by a Ukrainian drone attack overnight There was no official comment on that possibility Local residents heard an explosion shortly before the fire erupted Russian news site Baza saidMeanwhile explosions were heard in Kyiv and elsewhere during the night as Ukrainian air defenses shot down 21 of the Russian drones21No of Russian drones shot downPope greets Russian Orthodox envoy amid peace missionPope Francis on Wednesday greeted the foreign envoy of the Russian Orthodox Church just days after revealing a secret ldquomissionrdquo was under way to try to put an end to the war in Ukraine Metropolitan Anthony attended Francisrsquo weekly general audience in St Peterrsquos Square and then greeted Francis at the end He presented the pope with an icon which Francis blessed Francis devoted his remarks at the audience to a recap of his weekend visit to Hungary during which he made repeated calls for an end to the warAlso Read Drone attack was attempt on President Vladimir Putins life will retaliate RussiaZelensky seeks more firepower in Finland visitUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky right and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto review the honor guard in Helsinki PicAPUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Helsinki for talks with the prime ministers of four Nordic countries on Wednesday as part of his effort to secure greater firepower for his countryrsquos armed forces as they figure out how to dislodge Russian troops from occupied areas of UkraineThe Nordic countries mdash Finland Sweden Norway and Denmark mdash have been among Kyivrsquos strongest backers since Russiarsquos fullscale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 Before the meeting with Zelensky in Finlandrsquos capital Nordic officials appeared ready to provide more aid as the war stretches into its 15th month ldquoThere is still an urgent need for military support to ensure that the Ukrainians stand as strong as possible in the fight against Russiardquo Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen saidUS to send Ukraine 300mn in military aidThe US is sending Ukraine about 300 million in additional military aid including an enormous amount of artillery rounds howitzers airtoground rockets and ammunition as the launch of a spring offensive against Russian forces approaches US officials said TuesdayGermany raids Russian bizmanrsquos superyachtGerman authorities raided a luxury yacht belonging to a wealthy Russian businessman as part of a probe into possible breaches of Western sanctions imposed over Russiarsquos invasion of Ukraine officials said Wednesday Authorities are trying to determine whether the businessman tried to hide valuables on the yacht which he is required to report under European Union sanctions imposedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever