Despite the alleged attack on Belgorod, negotiations for a ceasefire resumed. The Kremlin said the Belgorod attack would complicate ceasefire negotiations with Kiev. “Of course, this does not create favorable conditions for the continuation of negotiations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow. “Our positions on Crimea and Donbass have not changed,” Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told Telegram.
As the governor of the region wrote, the “attack by two Ukrainian army helicopters that entered Russian territory at low altitude” caused a large fire in the fuel depot. Two employees were injured in the fire. A video released by the Ministry of Emergency Situations showed huge clouds of black smoke above the tanks. Belgorod is just 40 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and about 80 kilometers from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which has been under massive attack since the start of the Russian offensive.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry declined to comment on the Russian allegations. Ukraine is currently defending itself and cannot be held responsible for “all catastrophes on Russian territory”, a ministry spokesman said. “I will neither confirm nor deny these allegations.”
Meanwhile, in Mariupol, people were still desperately waiting for help. There were growing fears that the evacuation of civilians from the city by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) could fail again. According to Russian information, the escape corridor from the port city to Zaporizhia, 220 kilometers away, is due to reopen from Friday morning.
“It is not yet clear whether an evacuation will take place today,” an ICRC spokesman in Geneva said on Friday. Not every detail is regulated to ensure the process runs safely. Evacuation attempts have failed several times in recent weeks. According to an aide in Zaporizhia, about 40 buses with 3,000 people tried to leave the city. “We don’t know when they will arrive, it depends on the checkpoints,” he said.
So far, the Mariupol bombing has caused at least $10 billion in damage to the port city’s infrastructure, according to city officials. “Every crime, every murder and every act of destruction committed by the aggressor must be documented and forwarded to the International Court of Justice,” demanded Mayor Vadym Boichenko, according to the municipal administration.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Mariupol and elsewhere in eastern and southern Ukraine would have to prepare for even more violent attacks from Russia. The fact that the Russian government announced it would reduce attacks on Kiev and Chernihiv in the north of the country was “part of its tactics”, Zelensky said in a speech late on Friday. The Russian army wants to focus on other key areas “where it might be difficult for us”. “Big raids” are to be feared in Donbass, Mariupol and the area around Kharkiv.
According to Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, there is heavy fighting to the north and east of the Ukrainian capital. “The risk of dying in Kiev is quite high, so my advice to anyone who wants to go back is: please take your time,” says Klitschko. Earlier, the governor of the Kiev region said Russian troops were withdrawing from some areas but strengthening their positions elsewhere.
According to military experts, Russia wants to take over the areas between the Donbass and the annexed Crimea peninsula. The main obstacle is the bitter Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. According to the Tass Agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin is discussing additional measures to “prevent and neutralize threats to internal security” with members of his Security Council. However, the details remained open.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited India on Friday and stressed the friendly relations between the two countries and their interest in a “balanced world order”. According to Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, India will continue to buy oil from Russia. Given rising energy costs around the world, the population depends on cheap oil, he said.