up one of its gas pumping stations, terming it an  'act of terrorism'; the latter says the former is responsible for massive drone attack on Odesa

No let-up in Russia, Ukraine war

Both  Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin may have agreed to in principle not to attack each other’s energy infrastructure during conversations with the US ,  but one has yet to materialise due to conflicting conditions.

Ukrainian and US officials will meet for peace talks in Saudi Arabia next Monday, after the Kremlin confirmed US-Russia will hold talks there on the same day on pausing the three-year war. On ground zero there seems to be no let-up in fighting.

Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of blowing up a major Russian gas pumping and measuring station in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border in what it called "an act of terrorism".

Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said in a statement it had opened a criminal case over the incident, which it said,  had done "significant damage" to the facility near the town of Sudzha.

The Ukrainian military has denied involvement in the attack and accused Russian forces of shelling it with artillery in "a provocation". Some Russian media accused the Ukrainian military of attacking the facility. 

The facility, once used by Gazprom to export gas via Ukraine to Europe, is in a region largely recaptured by Russian forces this week after heavy fighting with Ukrainian troops who had held it since last year.

Russia says it was already abiding by the agreement not to strike energy targets and has accused Kyiv of violating it. 

Odesa attack

Another report said Russia pounded Ukraine's Black Sea city of Odesa late on Thursday with one of its biggest drone attacks, injuring three teenagers and sparking fires even as the Czech President Petr Pavel, a vocal backer of Kyiv who has led an effort to source more than one million artillery shells for Ukraine's war effort, visited the port  city, Ukrainian officials said.

"Significantly, it was during our meeting that the enemy once again massively attacked the Odesa region," Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app.

The long-range drones buzzed into the city in several waves, damaging infrastructure, residential houses and commercial buildings, causing multiple fires, the interior ministry said. Around 25 cars had been set ablaze at a car repair shop.

Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military analyst, told Reuters that Russia used new tactics for the attack, having its drones descend from a higher altitude than usual and at high speeds to make it harder for Ukraine's air defences.

He said it was one of the "most massive" attacks on Odesa since Russia invaded in February 2022: "It was intimidation. Terror against the civilian population," said Zelenskyy.

EU support

Meanwhile,  a report from Brussels quoted the European Union leaders saying they will continue to support Ukraine, but they did not immediately endorse a call by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to provide at least 5 billion euros for artillery ammunition purchases.