The Russia-Ukraine war, triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has entered its fifth year, with intense fighting continuing across multiple fronts and no clear end to the conflict in sight.In a recent development, fuel storage facilities caught fire following an overnight Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Yaroslavl Oblast, as per Yaroslavl Oblast Governor Mikhail Yevrayev.Authorities said firefighting operations were ongoing after the strike, Reuters reports.According to Russia’s defence ministry, Russian air defences shot down 208 drones overnight. More than 80 of those drones were intercepted over the southern Rostov Oblast region.Ukraine claims Russia drone targeted cargo ship bound for TurkeyUkraine’s navy on Friday said that a Russian drone strike triggered a fire on a cargo ship heading to Turkey after it departed from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa.Details regarding casualties or damage to the vessel were not immediately released.Russian drone hits apartment building in RomaniaIn a recent development, a Russian drone struck an apartment building in Galati, Romania’s defence ministry said early Friday, injuring two people and sparking a fire.As per BBC report, the drone crashed into a residential building during Russian attacks near the Ukraine-Romania border.This marks the first known incident during the war in which civilians in Romania have been injured by a Russian drone strike. Moscow has not commented on the incident.US says it is ready to mediateUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on May 26, said the United States remains willing to mediate between Russia and Ukraine despite renewed Russian strikes on Kyiv.“The US stands ready and prepared to help do whatever we can to help facilitate the end of this war, and hopefully the opportunity will present itself at some point,” he said.Zelenskyy urges Trump to provide air defence systemsUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged US President Donald Trump to help Ukraine acquire air defence systems and interceptors after Russia threatened fresh strikes on Kyiv.Ballistic missiles remain Moscow’s “last major advantage on the battlefield,” Zelenskyy said in a letter to Trump and the US Congress on May 27.“I ask for your help in protecting Ukraine’s skies from Russian missiles,” Zelenskyy wrote.Russia has rejected a US warning against systematic strikes on Kyiv during a UN Security Council session on Thursday, while reaffirming plans to target military and command facilities in the capital and urged foreign diplomats to leave the city.
