Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin bombs own gas pipeline to sabotage Trump ceasefire deal, Kyiv says

Ukraine has accused Russia of repeatedly bombing its own gas pipeline in order to blame Kyiv amid a proposed energy ceasefire.

A large cloud of smoke has gathered above a pipeline in Sudzha, in Russia’s Kurk region.

The gas pumping and measuring station has been used as a hub to transport Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine.

A huge fire broke out at the facility following a major explosion, but Ukraine has called accusations it carried out the attack “baseless”. .

“On the contrary, the mentioned station has been repeatedly shelled by the russians themselves,” Ukraine’s general staff said.

It added: “Russians continue to create numerous fakes and seek to mislead the international community.

“We urge you to trust only official sources, verify information and do not succumb to manipulation.”

The Czech President was in Odesa when the city was pounded by Russian drones.

Ukrainian officials said Petr Pavel has visited the country’s Black Sea port on Thursday prior to the attacks, which have sparked fires across the city.

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

“This is another reminder for the whole world: the war is on and Ukraine continues to fight.”

Russia launched 214 drones in an overnight attack on Thursday, Ukraine has said.

Kyiv’s air force said its defences shot down 114 of the drones, and said another 81 were “lost”, in reference to the Ukrainian military using electronic warfare to redirect them.

Ukrainian emergency services are battling blazes in Ukraine’s port city of Odesa after overnight Russian drone strikes.

Three people have been injured in the attack which sparked fires in three locations.

The regional governor said a high-rise apartment building and a shopping centre had also been damaged in the attack which triggered power cuts across the city.

Odesa has been a frequent target of Russian attacks in the more than three-year-old war, particularly the city’s port facilities.