United News of Bangladesh

A warehouse belonging to Russia's largest online retailer caught fire after Ukrainian long-range drones struck the facility in the Ural Mountains, more than 2,000 kilometers from the countries' border, officials and the company said Friday. Wildberries said its warehouse in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, was set ablaze in the attack, although most of the goods inside were not damaged. Regional Governor Denis Pasler said three drones struck the warehouse roof. Kremlin representative Artyom Zhoga said about 800 people were evacuated from the facility and no one was injured. Ukraine has increasingly targeted locations deep inside Russia, including in the Urals and western Siberia. Earlier, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian oil refinery nearly 2,500 kilometers from the border. Kyiv has made drone technology a key part of its military response to Russia's invasion, with Ukrainian officials saying the country's advances have led to drone cooperation agreements with nine countries. Talks are also underway with 15 more countries. Ukraine pushes ahead with new weaponsUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is accelerating work on new military technologies, particularly air defense systems designed to counter Russian ballistic missiles. Ukraine has faced growing pressure from Russian missile attacks amid shortages of US-made Patriot interceptor missiles, which have been used to protect civilian areas. Zelenskyy said a joint European anti-ballistic missile development program is already underway, involving 10 countries. He said Ukraine could produce its own missiles and launchers, while partner countries would supply key components, including radars and sensors. He also said Ukraine is developing its own ballistic missiles for use against Russia, adding that initial tests had shown promising potential. Eastern defenses under pressureMeanwhile, Ukrainian forces are facing continued pressure along the eastern front as Russia seeks to break through after months of limited advances. Ukraine has been evacuating civilians, including children, from Kramatorsk, one of four major cities forming the so-called Fortress Belt in the eastern Donetsk region. The roughly 50-kilometer line of heavily fortified cities has played a key role in preventing Russia from capturing Ukraine's industrial heartland. Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, said more than 800 people, including 91 children, were evacuated from the area in the previous 24 hours. Ukraine has also been using medium-range strike drones to disrupt Russian supply routes and slow the advance of its forces. Nightly drone attacks continueRussia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 203 Ukrainian drones between late Thursday and early Friday. Ukraine's Air Force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 147 long-range attack drones at Ukrainian targets. In the northern Sumy region, a Russian drone hit a busy market Friday morning, injuring 10 people, according to local authorities. Russia also launched glide bombs and other drones against the regional capital, damaging residential buildings, transport facilities and infrastructure, regional administration head Oleh Hryhorov said. Two people were injured in those attacks.

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil terminal in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region overnight, local officials said Saturday, in the latest strike targeting Moscow’s energy infrastructure. Authorities in the port city of Novorossiysk said falling drone debris triggered the blaze at an oil terminal, leaving two people injured. However, they did not name the facility involved. Russia’s Astra news outlet reported that Ukrainian drones hit the Sheskharis oil terminal and depot, a key hub linked to the Transneft pipeline network. Images shared by the outlet showed smoke rising from the area, though the footage could not be independently verified. Ukraine did not immediately comment on the incident. Ukraine has increasingly stepped up drone and missile strikes inside Russia, using domestically developed weapons to hit oil and energy sites that play an important role in financing Moscow’s war effort. Such attacks have become frequent in recent months. Meanwhile, Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine’s occupied Luhansk region said the death toll from a Ukrainian drone strike on a college dormitory in Starobilsk has risen to 11. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday condemned the dormitory strike as a “crime” and ordered the military to prepare retaliation options. He claimed there were no military or security facilities near the building. At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council requested by Russia, Ukrainian envoy Andrii Melnyk rejected the allegations, calling them “propaganda” and insisting that Ukraine’s May 22 operations targeted only Russian military infrastructure.