MOSCOW: Russia&#39;s defense ministry said Monday that it had downed 251 Ukrainian drones overnight, in one of Kyiv&#39;s largest retaliatory attacks on its neighbor since Moscow invaded over three years ago. &quot;Over the past night, air defence alert systems intercepted and destroyed 251 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles,&quot; the ministry wrote on Telegram. It said Russian forces downed 40 drones over Crimea -- annexed by Russia in 2014 -- as well as 62 over the Black Sea. Dozens more were shot out of the skies over the Kursk and Belgorod regions, as well as others, the ministry said. Russia has kept up a near-constant barrage of drone and missile attacks -- particularly on Ukraine&#39;s energy networks -- as it grinds on with the full-scale invasion it launched in February 2022.Ukraine has increasingly responded with its own strikes targeting Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure.

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Russia’s defense ministry reported downing 251 Ukrainian drones overnight, calling it one of Ukraine’s largest retaliatory attacks. Drones were intercepted over Crimea, the Black Sea, and multiple Russian regions, including Kursk and Belgorod. 

Russia says downed 251 Ukrainian drones overnight

WASHINGTON: G7 finance ministers pledged Wednesday to take aim at those who are continuing to step up purchases of Russian oil, since Moscow&#39;s invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. In a statement after a virtual meeting, officials from the Group of Seven advanced economies &mdash; Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States &mdash; agreed that it is time to &quot;maximize pressure on Russia&#39;s oil exports.&quot; This would hit Moscow&#39;s revenue for the war. &quot;We will target those who are continuing to increase their purchase of Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine and those who are facilitating circumvention,&quot; the ministers said in a joint statement. Trade measures &nbsp;They added that they agreed on &quot;the importance of trade measures, including tariffs&quot; and import or export bans in efforts to cut off Russian revenues. The countries are also giving &quot;serious consideration to trade measures and other restrictions on countries and entities that are helping finance Russia&#39;s war efforts, including on refined products sourced from Russian oil.&quot; The statement came after the United States indicated last month that it was ready to broaden tariffs targeting buyers of Russian oil if the European Union takes similar moves. President Donald Trump, who dialed in to talks between the United States and EU officials, had raised the possibility of tariffs ranging from 50% to 100% targeting oil buyers such as China and India, according to an official. Pressure from Trump&nbsp;In September, the European Commission also stated that it was considering the potential imposition of tariffs on Russian oil imports into the bloc, in response to pressure from Trump. The US leader has demanded that Europe end energy imports from Moscow before agreeing to move forward with sanctions against Russia. The G7 ministers plan to meet again on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund&#39;s and World Bank&#39;s annual meetings in Washington this month.

G7 finance ministers pledged to increase pressure on Russia by targeting countries and entities increasing Russian oil purchases, considering tariffs and trade restrictions to reduce Moscow’s war revenues and limit oil export circumvention.

G7 ministers to target those increasing Russia oil purchases

KYIV: Russian shelling has cut power to the site of the Chernobyl nuclear plant, part of which was destroyed in a 1986 nuclear meltdown, Ukraine&#39;s energy ministry said on Wednesday. Ukraine said the confinement structure housing a damaged reactor lost power in the incident, and that specialists were currently working to restore electricity. Ukraine did not elaborate on the consequences of the blackout, and Russia did not immediately comment. Emergency situation&nbsp;&quot;Due to Russian shelling of energy infrastructure in the Kyiv region, an emergency situation arose at the facilities of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant,&quot; Ukraine&#39;s energy ministry said in a statement on Telegram. &quot;As a result of power surges, the New Safe Confinement, a key facility that isolates the destroyed fourth power unit of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and prevents the release of radioactive materials into the environment, was left without power,&quot; it added. The New Safe Confinement, completed in 2016, is a large shield-like structure that surrounds the unit four reactor and prevents the release of radioactive material. A Russian drone attack damaged the confinement structure in February but did not result in increased radiation in the surrounding area, Ukrainian authorities said.

Russian shelling cut power to the Chernobyl nuclear plant, affecting the New Safe Confinement structure that isolates the damaged reactor. Ukraine is working to restore electricity; Russia has not commented.

Articles tagged with "Ukraine war"

Russia says downed 251 Ukrainian drones overnight

G7 ministers to target those increasing Russia oil purchases

Russia cuts power to site of Chernobyl nuclear plant: Ukraine