Putin condemns drone attack; King Charles to US Congress – Ukrainians need your 9/11 spirit; acting US ambassador to leave Kyiv. What we know on day 1,526
A Ukrainian drone attack has caused another major fire at the Russian oil refinery in the city of Tuapse – the third attack on the Black Sea port in less than two weeks. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, condemned it as a “strike against civilian infrastructure” but Kyiv says the campaign is designed to disrupt Russia’s oil industry and slash revenues that help Moscow fund the war – making such facilities a legitimate target in war. In this strike, dense black smoke again rose from the direction of the Tuapse refinery, which has annual production capacity of about 12m tonnes.
The refinery halted production on 16 April because of drone damage to the port that made it impossible to ship its production, industry sources told Reuters. The head of the Tuapse district, Sergei Boyko, on Tuesday ordered people living near the refinery to evacuate by bus to a local school. After an attack on 20 April, black rain fell on the town and a popular beach resort, leaving an oily residue. Putin has sent an emergencies minister to Tuapse.
King Charles has given a speech to the US Congress in which he made pointed reference to the defence of Ukraine, write Chris Stein and Caroline Davies. Charles said: “In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when Nato invoked article five for the first time, and the UN security council was united in the face of terror, we answered the call together – as our people have done so for more than a century, shoulder to shoulder, through two world wars, the cold war, Afghanistan, and moments that have defined our shared security. Today, Mr Speaker, that same, unyielding resolve is needed for the defence of Ukraine and her most courageous people. It is needed in order to secure a truly just and lasting peace.”
