Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelensky meets with the leaders of the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: Remko de Waal / ANP / AFP 09:46, 04 May 2023, modified at 09:49, 04 May 2023

THE ESSENTIALS

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived Thursday in The Hague in the Netherlands to meet with the leaders of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which investigates alleged war crimes of the Russian army in Ukraine and has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin. "We are in The Hague, we will meet the leaders of the International Criminal Court," said Sergei Nykyforov, the Ukrainian president's spokesman.

The main information:

- Volodymy Zelensky meets with the leaders of the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands

- Two drone attacks hit oil refineries

- 18 out of 24 drones sent by Russia were reportedly shot down by the Ukrainian army

Oil refineries attacked by drones in Russia

Two drones struck oil refineries in southwestern Russia, near Ukraine, media and local authorities said, a day after an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin. A first fire, now extinguished, broke out in a tank of an oil facility in Ilsky, Krasnodar region, after an attack carried out by an unidentified "drone", according to emergency services cited by TASS and Ria Novosti agencies.

The local governor, Venyamin Kondratiev, said on Telegram that the fire was contained to an area of 400 square meters, then quickly extinguished by firefighters around 5:00 am local time (02:00 GMT). About an hour later, Vasily Golubiev, the governor of the Rostov region, bordering Ukraine, announced that a drone had hit a local refinery near the village of Kisselevka.

According to this source, the drone caused an explosion and a fire that was "immediately" extinguished by the factory staff. "No casualties, the damage to the facilities is insignificant," Golubiev said. The governor of the Voronezh region, which also borders Ukraine, said on Telegram that local air defense destroyed a drone early in the morning, with no casualties or damage to report.

For nearly a week, a series of drone attacks and two rail sabotages have hit Russian regions near Ukraine and annexed Crimea, a few days before the military celebrations of May 9, essential in the Kremlin's agenda. While Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for any of these attacks, as usual, their multiplication comes at a time when Kiev claims to have completed its preparations for a major spring offensive announced for weeks.

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18 Russian drones shot down by Ukraine?

Ukraine claimed to have shot down 18 out of 24 drones sent by Russia on Thursday night, a day after Moscow accused Kiev of launching a drone attack on the Kremlin. "The invaders launched 24 Shahed 136/131 drones. The Ukrainian Air Force, in cooperation with other air defense units, shot down 18 drones," she said in a statement on Telegram.