Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,261

On Friday, August 8, 2018, this is how things are going.

Fighting

The Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region of Russia was targeted by the Ukrainian military’s drone units. The refinery, which processed 7.2 million metric tons of crude oil in addition to the Krasnodar refinery in 2024, was unsure of the extent of the damage.
A fire at the Afipsky refinery was reportedly put out by local Russian emergency services as a result of falling drone debris. Nine Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight in the region, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Eight British-made Storm Shadow missiles launched by the Ukrainian army over the past 24 hours have been shot down by Russian air defense systems, according to the Defense Ministry of Russia.
According to the ministry, Russia also struck a Ukrainian railroad hub, which is used to transport military and weapons to the region of Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine.
The southern Ukrainian gas transmission operator, the Orlovka interconnector, which was attacked by Russian drones on Wednesday, continued to supply gas on Thursday through it.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump may meet next week, according to Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, who denied knowledge that Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy had any plans to do so.
Trump claimed that Zelenskyy and Putin need not agree to meet in order for them to meet.
One of the ideal locations for a meeting with Trump was stated by Putin as the United Arab Emirates.

Putin continued that “certain conditions should be created” for such a meeting and that he was not “on the whole” opposed to meeting Zelenskyy. He argued that the current circumstances were “far from ready.”
Following a “long discussion” with Zelenskyy and other European leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated France’s full support for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the start of negotiations to reach a lasting and solid peace.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, confirmed that Zelenskyy and the Commission had spoken about the latest developments and the upcoming steps.
According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, the country’s foreign minister, spoke with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan during a phone call.

Russia and India made clear that they would work together in “strategic partnership” during bilateral security discussions in Moscow one day after Trump imposed higher tariffs on Indian imports as a result of Russia’s oil purchases.
Ajit Doval, the Indian National Security Advisor, was quoted by Russia’s Interfax news agency as saying that Putin would visit New Delhi by the end of the year.

The central bank of Russia has changed its non-residential rules to allow foreigners to transfer funds from special type-C accounts to Russian investors when they are engaged in asset-exchange, a move that could free up previously unused funds both domestically and internationally.
A state-owned explosives manufacturer evaded Western sanctions by purchasing Siemens’ equipment from a middleman that imports technology from China as Russia sought to boost military production for the Ukrainian conflict, according to Reuters news agency.

On a call with International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva, Zelenskyy said he had a conversation about a new financial assistance program that would “strengthen Ukrainians now and in the post-war period.”
In a heated discussion over the cancellation of a concert by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev in Italy, Russia claimed to have protested to Italy this week over what it termed “odious” anti-Russian statements.

Source: Aljazeera