The latest news on the war between Russia and Ukraine | Wilnesh News

Russia’s overnight attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv left two people injured and three residential buildings destroyed by fire, according to the city’s governor.

Oleh Syniehubov, leader of the Kharkiv region of Ukraine explain A Google Translate post on Telegram said fire broke out in three houses in the early hours of Friday morning.

Two men, an 11-year-old and a 72-year-old, are said to have suffered shell shock during the attack and are receiving medical attention.

Syniehubov shared photos on Telegram of what appeared to be the aftermath of the attack, showing buildings on fire and black smoke billowing into the night sky.

CNBC could not independently verify the report.

— Sam Meredith

According to Russian media reports, a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s Kaluga region.

According to the Moscow Times, citing the Russian telegram channel SHOT, several strong explosions were heard in the Dzerzhinsky District of the Kaluga region early on Friday.

Vladislav Shapsha, Governor of Kaluga Region explain A Google Translate post on Telegram said emergency crews quickly extinguished the fire and were currently assessing the extent of the damage.

Shapsha said preliminary data showed no one was killed in the attack. He did not specify which facility the incident occurred.

Anton Gerashchenko, former advisor to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine explain The refinery is the largest in Russia’s Kaluga region and a major complex for processing commercial oil and natural gas condensate, it said on Friday through social media platform X.

CNBC could not independently verify the reports. Russia has launched a series of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent months, prompting retaliatory attacks on Kiev refineries.

— Sam Meredith

Ukraine’s parliament voted on Thursday in favor of a bill aimed at cracking down on Ukrainians evading conscription, Reuters reported.

Under the new bill, fines will be increased for anyone trying to avoid being drafted into the army, and authorities will be allowed to detain deserters for up to three days.

The bill has the support of a majority of lawmakers but still needs to be signed into law by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine has been grappling with a shortage of soldiers, prompting the government to come up with new ways to expand its military’s manpower. Earlier this week, Ukraine’s parliament passed a bill allowing some prisoners to enlist in the army.

A new mobilization law is also about to take effect, which lowers the minimum age for new recruits, among other requirements.

——Sophie Kidlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia and Belarus will jointly conduct tactical nuclear weapons exercises.

“Since non-strategic nuclear weapons are stationed on the territory of Belarus, this time we invited our friends, allies and at the request of the President of Belarus (Alexander Lukashenko) to participate in one of the phases of this exercise. We follow Interfax According to the news agency, Putin said that such activities are carried out regularly.

non-strategic — or tactical — Nuclear weapons are designed for use in battlefield situations, as opposed to larger, more destructive strategic nuclear weapons, which could destroy entire cities.

Russia and its neighbor and ally Belarus both announced their intention to conduct their own exercises earlier this week.

Russia has deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus but retains control of the weapons. Russia says its decision to deploy such hardware in Belarus is no different from the U.S. decision to deploy non-strategic nuclear weapons in Europe.

— Holly Elliot