Kyiv confirms strike on oil and petrochemical complex in Bashkortostan
Ukraine’s military struck an oil refinery and petrochemical complex in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, causing a fire, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Thursday.
We earlier reported that Russian authorities said Ukraine had attacked an industrial area in Russia’s Bashkortostan region.
It said on the Telegram app that the complex was located about 1,300 km (808 miles) from the Ukrainian border and was involved in supplying fuel to the Russian troops.
Wildberries, the online retailer that Kyiv has been targeted in a drone campaign which aims at “bringing the war home” to ordinary Russians, also confirmed that one if its facilities in the region was set on fire by the attack.
Alex Croft14 August 2026 03:00
Russia reports young child dead in Ukrainian strike on naval base
Ukrainian forces launched a massive overnight attack on Russia’s Novorossiysk naval base using drones, missiles, and unmanned boats, president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed.
Here’s all you need to know in just five bullet points with The Independent’s Bulletin.
Alex Croft14 August 2026 01:30
Ukraine needs 5% of US Patriot interceptors to survive winter, Zelensky says
Ukraine needs five per cent of US Patriot interceptor stocks to get through the winter and 10 per cent to destroy all Russian ballistic missiles, Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN.
He said Ukraine had “two and a half times less interceptors than we had in 2025”, while Russia was firing twice as many ballistic missiles each month.
Zelensky said he was asking the US to sell Ukraine 5 per cent of its interceptor stocks.
Zelensky said Ukraine was currently receiving only “1 per cent” of what the US makes.
“From 1 per cent to 5 per cent… I have some months and millions [of] phone calls and anything else. I do some things which I can’t even share. It doesn’t mean that it’s out of the law. But I can’t speak about it
Alex Croft14 August 2026 00:01
Russia cannot claim ‘victory’, Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov says
Nobel laureate and former chief editor of newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Dmitry Muratov, said that Russia cannot claim victory in Ukraine because the war has devastated both countries, and that Ukraine may be destroyed but cannot be conquered.
He told the BBC: “There will never be ‘victory’. Because what has been going on for nearly five years – no matter how it ends – can no longer be considered a victory.
“It cannot be a victory when two Slavic nations have ripped a million people to shreds. Or more than a million.”
He said: “It seems to me that the situation with Ukraine now is this: you can destroy it, but you cannot conquer it. What do I mean by destroy? Continued escalation all the way to the use of a nuclear weapon.”
He continued: “All those political experts who say ‘Putin thinks this’ or ‘Putin is scared of that’…they’re all charlatans.
“It’s in the same league as astrology. Nobody knows what’s going on in Vladimir Putin’s head. And I don’t know.
“I see things only as a journalist. I study big data. And since the beginning of the year, the need to use nuclear weapons has been mentioned more than 500 times. When wackos say this, I pay no attention. But I’ve heard it discussed on state TV. And at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, a state-run event, one of the speakers talked up the use of nuclear weapons as something favourable, something good.”
Alex Croft13 August 2026 23:00
Russia’s Wildberries says attack causes fire at industrial area
An air attack caused a fire at an industrial area in Russia’s Bashkortostan region where online retailer Wildberries has a facility, the company said on Thursday.
No goods were stored at the premises, the company said.
Wildberries warehouses have been targeted in a series of attacks by Ukrainian drones since July 18.
Daniel Keane13 August 2026 22:00
Ukrainian attack shuts Russia’s Orsk refinery for months
An oil refinery in the Russian city of Orsk that was hit by a Ukrainian drone strike two days ago has been forced to shut down completely, and repairs could take up to six months, the regional governor said on Thursday.
“Shrapnel damaged key infrastructure that cannot currently be repaired. The equipment is imported, and due to sanctions, repairs could take up to six months. The plant has completely shut down,” Yevgeny Solntsev, governor of the surrounding Orenburg region, posted on social media.
“We are preparing for a worst-case scenario and will have to rely on fuel supplies brought in from outside the region.”
Daniel Keane13 August 2026 21:00
Ukraine destroys missile system protecting Putin’s $1bn Black Sea palace
Two attacks over the last week have targeted military assets in Gelendzhik, around 12 miles from the Russian leader’s holiday home.
On Sunday, a further strike was launched on an S-400 anti-aircraft missile system and launch pad just 500m away from the previous attack.
Daniel Keane13 August 2026 20:00
Pictured: Ukrainian firefighters run for their lives as Russian drones attack trucks Ukrainian Firefighters Run For Their Lives As Russian Drones Attack Trucks
Daniel Keane13 August 2026 19:00
Russia attacks Ukrainian port on Danube
Russia struck Ukraine’s largest grain export port on the Danube on Thursday, causing damage and starting a fire, authorities said.
The port of Izmail, near the Romanian border in Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa, handles exports of grain and other commodities.
Izmail regional state administration said on Telegram the overnight strikes had damaged port infrastructure and taken out power in the southeast of the city.
Daniel Keane13 August 2026 18:00
Five killed while defusing bomb in Russia-controlled Crimea, say authorities
Five people were killed while trying to defuse an explosive device in Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-controlled Crimea, regional governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Thursday.
He said four emergency service bomb disposal specialists and a security guard were carrying out clearance work following a Ukrainian drone attack on the city when the explosion occurred.
Both sides have stepped up air attacks in the fifth year of the full-scale war that Russia launched in 2022.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defence units shot down or intercepted 362 Ukrainian drones overnight across a number of Russian and Russian-controlled regions, including Crimea, which Moscow seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Alex Croft13 August 2026 17:00