France’s flagship aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle

Friday’s Coverage: Kyiv and US Seek Trilateral Meeting — But Will Kremlin Agree?

UPDATE 0638 GMT:

A Ukrainian drone attack has set afire an oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai in southwest Russia.

Russian officials said falling debris from the UAV ignited the blaze.

The reported target was the Albashneft “mini-refinery” in the village of Novominskaya, around 250 km (155 miles) from the frontline in Ukraine. Flames engulfed one of the tanks at the facility and burned an adjacent area of around 150 square meters.

UPDATE 0625 GMT:

At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed after being “lured into battle” by Russia on Ukraine’s frontlines.

During a visit to Kyiv, Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said he was informed that “272 Ghanaians are believed to have been lured into battle since 2022 for which an estimated 55 have been killed and 2 captured as prisoners of war”.

Okudzeto posted after a meeting with the POWs:

UPDATE 0616 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico have agreed a face-to-face meeting to discuss the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba oil pipeline, damaged by a Russian attack on January 27.

The pipeline runs from Siberia to Hungary and Slovakia. Both Fico and Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán have blamed Kyiv for the pipeline’s shutdown despite Russia’s responsibility and Zelensky saying repairs have been difficult to complete.

Orbán has blocked a €90 billion ($106 billion) European Union loan to Ukraine and further EU sanctions on Russia. Fico had threatened to suspend supplies of electricity to Ukraine amid Russia’s missile and drone strikes crippling Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Sweden has confirmed that it jammed a Russian drone flying near France’s flagship aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, on Wednesday.

A Swedish navy vessel detected and jammed the drone 13 km (8 miles) from the carrier while it was in the Oresund strait between Denmark and Sweden.

The military said the jamming was immediate and there was never any danger to the French flagship. It is not known if the drone returned to its source or crashed into the sea.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told journalists on the Charles de Gaulle that if Russian involvement is confirmed, “the only conclusion I would draw is that it would be a ridiculous provocation”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Barrot had made “quite an absurd statement”.

On Thursday, Romania scramble fighter jets when a drone breached its national airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine.