Blaze at St Petersburg oil sites as Kyiv launches more than 1,000 drones at Russia

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By The Associated Press | Posted by TOE Ukrainian attacks set an oil export terminal ablaze in St. Petersburg on Sunday, as Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones across Russia in one of its largest ever aerial bombardments. The attack comes amid deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington , with U.S. President Donald Trump criticizing Kyiv for its strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. One person was killed and five more were wounded in the attack, which sparked fires at both the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the city’s Ruchi oil depot, said local Gov. Alexander Beglov. A logistics center belonging to Russian retailer Ozon and a data center for local tech giant VK were also targeted, both companies confirmed. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday that its forces had destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions, as well as the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black Sea. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state n...
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Colombia, Ecuador leaders clash over bomb dropped near border

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The leaders of Colombia and Ecuador sparred Tuesday over allegations that the Ecuadoran bombing of suspected criminal hideouts near their shared border had spilled into Colombian territory.

Months of tension between Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro and his right-wing Ecuadoran counterpart, Daniel Noboa, an ally of US President Donald Trump, spiked Monday when Petro alleged that explosives were dropped from a plane near the border.

On Tuesday, Petro posted on X a photo of an unexploded “bomb” that he said had fallen on the Colombian-Ecuadoran frontier. He called for a thorough investigation, saying: “It fell 100 meters from the home of a poor family.”

Local farmers speaking with AFP corroborated Petro’s account.

“We were all terrified — you know, scared — and worried that those devices might suddenly explode and take our lives,” farmer Julian Imbacuan told AFP by phone.

Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez implored residents to avoid the area.

Noboa took to X Tuesday to retort that Ecuador is “currently bombing locations that served as hideouts” for criminal groups that are “largely Colombian, and which your government allowed to infiltrate our country due to negligence regarding your border.”

“President Petro, your statements are false,” Noboa said. “We are operating within our own territory, not yours.”

Petro, however, insisted “there are 27 charred bodies and Noboa’s explanation is not credible,” without specifying if he was referring to recent casualties.

AFP contacted the army, which was unable to clarify Petro’s comment.

Colombia and Ecuador share a 586-kilometer (364-mile) border where Colombian guerrilla groups and criminal organizations from both countries operate. They engage in trafficking of drugs, weapons and people, and illegal mining.

The countries faced a similar rise in tensions in 2008 when Colombia’s then-president Alvaro Uribe ordered a strike on Ecuadoran soil to take out a FARC commander.

Ecuador recently began anti-drug operations with US support and also joined the “Shield of the Americas,” a 17-nation coalition set up by Trump this month to combat drug trafficking in the region.

Colombia, like other left-wing governments in Latin America, was not invited to join the group even as Bogota and Washington agreed recently to coordinate their efforts against Colombian cartels and guerrilla groups.

The exclusion drew a complaint from Petro.

SOURCE: AFP AND AGENCIES



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