Ukraine latest: Ukraine hits Russian oil base - as state of emergency declared - Sky News

A state of emergency has been declared in Russia’s western city of Engels, according to the region’s governor. It comes after Ukraine said it was behind a drone strike on a Russian oil base in the region. Submit your questions for our correspondents in the box below.
Wednesday 8 January 2025 16:40, UK
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the number of casualties could go up in the city of Zaporizhzhia following a Russian attack.
The region’s governor says 13 people have been killed so far following the air strike, with 18 others wounded (see 3.55pm post).
Posting on X, Zelenskyy said: “There is nothing more cruel than launching aerial bombs on a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer.
“Russia must be put under pressure for its terror. The protection of lives in Ukraine must be supported. Only through strength can such a war be ended with a lasting peace.”
We brought you reports earlier that one person had been killed following a Russian attack in Ukraine’s southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia (see 2.05pm post).
The region’s governor has now reported an updated death toll of 13, with 18 others wounded in the attack.
Posting on his Telegram channel, Ivan Federov gave condolences for the deceased, adding: “The Russians cynically struck the city in the middle of the day.”
Images from the strike show cars in flames and firefighters tackling the fires, as well as emergency responders carrying injured people.
The Kremlin is continuing to promote its ‘Time for Heroes’ programme, which aims to place veterans of Russia’s war with Ukraine in local, regional, and federal government positions.
This program, which last week said it had 15,000 applications for its second cohort, provides veterans with preferential access to government positions in Russia.
Vladimir Putin says the project aims to produce a “new elite” to govern the country.
He has described veterans of the Ukraine war as the most patriotic and reliable members of Russian society and said the old elite should be replaced with loyal military men.
“They should be the ones taking up leading positions, whether in the education system, in non-governmental organisations, state companies, in business, in state and municipal administration,” he said.
A state of emergency has been declared in Russia’s western city of Engels, according to its governor.
It comes after a Ukrainian drone strike this morning caused a fire at an industrial facility.
Roman Busargin, the regional governor, said two firefighters had been killed while tackling the blaze.
Ukraine’s military said it was responsible for the attack earlier, which targeted an oil base in the city (see 10.54am post).
Kyiv said the base was fuelling bomber planes that were later being used to fire missiles at Ukraine.
Russian forces captured an additional 0.5% of Ukraine in 2024, according to a war tracker.
Data also shows that Moscow’s troops currently control 18.14% of Ukrainian territory.
This includes Crimea and the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk which it occupied before the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
One person has been killed and at least three are injured after a Russian attack in Ukraine’s southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, according to reports.
The regional governor Ivan Federov reported the attack in a Telegram post and has urged residents to stay in safe places until the end of the day.
Zaporizhzhia is one of the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia.
However, Ukraine says it will never accept an illegal seizure of its territory by force and said the referendums were rigged votes held at gunpoint.
At least 17 Russian drones launched at Ukraine overnight crossed into Belarus, according to a report from a military monitoring group.
The Belarusian Hajun project says the drones were fired from the Bryansk region of Russia.
It said at least three drones flew directly into Belarus from Russia, whilst others diverted into Belarusian airspace after initially entering Ukraine.
For context: This is not the first time Russian drones have ended up crossing into Belarus, an ally of Moscow, since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In October, the Belarusian Hajun project reported that the drones had crossed into Belarusian airspace as the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, was travelling by helicopter.
NATO is reportedly sending a fleet of up to 10 vessels to the Baltic Sea to guard infrastructure there after several cables were cut in a suspected sabotage, according to the Finnish broadcaster Yle.
The ships are mainly from Finland and Estonia and will patrol the Gulf of Finland.
The broadcaster said the operation will begin at the end of the week and will last until April.
What has been happening?
In December, an undersea power cable and four internet cables were cut and damaged between Estonia and Finland.
NATO said it would enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea, with the bloc’s secretary general Mark Rutte saying he had spoken to Finland’s President Alexander Stubb about the “possible sabotage”.
This week the UK and a group of allies also launched an operation that will use artificial intelligence to better spot threats to undersea cables and track the movement of a “Russian shadow fleet”.
Moscow’s troops are continuing to conduct assaults on positions in Ukraine’s south and east.
The map below shows the wider situation on the frontline, where Ukraine’s forces are trying to stop key cities and supply routes from falling under Russian control.
Closer in, we can also see the latest territorial gains in the Donetsk region, where some of the most intense fighting has taken place during the war.
Yesterday, Ukraine’s army said it was still holding its positions in the western outskirts of Kurakhove, a strategic town close to Pokrovsk that Russia claims to have captured.
There’s also been an increased amount of activity in Russia’s Kursk region recently, where Ukraine first launched an offensive back in August.
Here’s the latest territorial gains in the region:
Lithuania has ramped up security around the country’s electricity link with Poland ahead of a planned decoupling of its power systems from a Soviet-era grid shared with Russia and Belarus.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said the government had asked police to guard the link to Poland following attempts to disrupt the planned decoupling.
“We see very clear and unambiguous attempts by opponents to disrupt this process. That is why we are taking steps to protect our infrastructure,” he said.
For context: Three decades after splitting from the former Soviet Union, Lithuania still depends on Russia to ensure a stable power system.
But it has been calling for a decoupling since last year, saying that Russia is undependable and an aggressor.
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