Russian officials on Wednesday (Mar 19) said that a fire broke out at an oil depot in the southwest due to debris from a neutralised Ukrainian drone attack. "A fire broke out at an oil depot located near the village due to falling debris," emergency services in the Krasnodar Krai administrative area said in a statement. They added that Kyiv's drone attack "has been repelled". 

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A report by Odesa Journal mentioned that the fire broke out after a UAV attack and the pipeline between storage tanks was damaged. The operations at the facility were halted, it added. 

Also read: Putin tells Trump ‘two big conditions’ for ending Ukraine war: Will US and West comply?

The report claimed that the initial probe revealed that there were no casualties, but 30 on-duty employees were evacuated. There are 105 personnel and 45 units of equipment involved in firefighting efforts currently, the report said. 

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As per the report, the Kavkazskaya oil facility is a key hub for transporting Russian crude for export. It includes a railway oil terminal and a connecting pipeline to the Kropotkinskaya"] oil pumping station, which is a part of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system. 

The report mentioned that up to 6 million tonnes of oil pass through Kavkazskaya annually.

Also read: Vladimir Putin showing signs of 'mini-stroke,' claims his former speechwriter. Is the Russian president sick?

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What going on with the Ukraine ceasefire? 

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Tuesday that talks on a ceasefire in Russia's war with Ukraine will continue on Sunday in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. 

Hours after Trump held a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Witkoff in an interview with Fox News said that talks on a ceasefire deal "will begin on Sunday in Jeddah". 

Also read: Trump’s ‘frank’ call with Putin leads to limited Ukraine ceasefire, prisoner exchange - What else they discussed

Witkoff said the US delegation in Saudi Arabia would be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, but did not indicate who they would be holding talks with. 

Witkoff on Tuesday said a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine-Russia war would involve "energy and infrastructure in general." While responding to a question on US broadcaster Fox News on whether the proposed ceasefire would include only energy targets or energy and infrastructure targets, Witkoff said: "No, it's energy and infrastructure in general."

Also read: ‘Not an appropriate response’: US Chief Justice rebukes Trump’s call to impeach ‘lunatic’ judge James Boasberg

Meanwhile, Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of effectively rejecting a US-backed ceasefire proposal, reporting a barrage of strikes on civilian infrastructure hours after Moscow agreed only to pause attacks on the energy grid. 

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos