ANKARA, May 5 (Reuters) – A Ukrainian delegate punched a Russian delegate in the face during a gathering of Black Sea nations in the Turkish capital on Thursday, after his Ukrainian flag was snatched away to stop him photobombing a video interview with Russia’s lead delegate.
Olesandr Marikovski posted a video of himself thumping the Russian and retrieving the blue and yellow flag on his Facebook page. The incident took place in a hallway of the parliament building, where the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) assembly was being held.
Earlier in the day, some Ukrainian delegates scuffled with security officers who had tried to pull them away as they staged a protest, shouting and holding their flags next to Russia’s lead delegate as she tried to address the assembly.
Pictures of the disturbance were posted by the Turkish parliament on its website, and Mustafa Sentop, the parliament’s head, issued a stiff rebuke.
“I condemn this behaviour that disrupts the peaceful environment that Turkey is trying to establish,” he said.
While representatives from the 13 countries in the BSEC met on Thursday, Russian drones continued to attack the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. There are currently no peace talks to end the war, which has devastated Ukrainian towns and cities, killed thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.
A drone attack on the Ilsky oil refinery in southern Russia, the second in as many days, has caused a fire, TASS news agency reported on Friday, citing emergency services.
Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency also reported that there were no casualties following the Friday’s incident, while the fire had been put out.
It was not immediately clear, who was behind the incident. Ukrainian officials do not usually claim responsibility for such attacks inside Russia’s territory, although they sometimes celebrate them using euphemistic language.
The Ilsky refinery, near the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in the Krasnodar region, has a processing capacity of around 6.6 million tonnes per year.
In Other Developments
FIGHTING
* Ukrainian military command said in its Friday morning report that 18 out 24 drones launched by Russian forces had been shot down. It said the Russian military had launched 10 missile strikes on the cities of Kramatorsk and Zaporizhzhia, and also carried out 75 airstrikes and dozens of rocket attacks.
* Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday evening, the fourth assault in as many days subjecting residents to spasms of gunfire and explosions.
* Russia said the United States was behind a purported drone attack on the Kremlin on Wednesday night aiming to kill President Putin.
* The United States dismissed as lies Russia’s allegation. Ukraine also denied involvement.
* Nearly 50 Russian attacks were repelled along the main sectors of the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Thursday evening. The heaviest fighting is still in Bakhmut and in Maryinka, further south in Donetsk region, it said.
* Ukraine’s air force said it downed one of its own drones after it lost control over Kyiv on Thursday. Andriy Yermak, Ukraine presidential chief of staff, initially said an enemy drone that had been shot down. But the air force later clarified it was Ukrainian and had been destroyed to avoid “undesirable circumstances”. No casualties were reported.
* Record high water levels could overwhelm a major dam in southern Ukraine and damage parts of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, a Russian official told TASS news agency.
DIPLOMACY/POLITICS
* Technical personnel from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations will meet on Friday to discuss a deal that allows the exports of Ukrainian grains on the Black Sea, the Turkish Defence Minister said.
* The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations said on a visit to Brazil that she encouraged the government to include Ukraine in any attempt to negotiate an end to the war. She was referring to President Lula da Silva’s comments calling on the West to stop arming Ukraine to allow peace talks to start.
* Putin must be brought to justice for his war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said in The Hague, calling for the creation of a war crimes tribunal separate to the International Criminal Court.
QUOTES
* “I don’t believe they got to the Kremlin … Our Putin is super. Nothing ever threatens him” – Moscow resident Zifa.
* “We all want to see a different Vladimir here in The Hague, the one who deserves to be sanctioned for his criminal actions here, in the capital of international law” – Zelenskiy
Photo: A police officer stands in front of a building damaged by the debris of a fallen drone in Kyiv, Ukraine. According to a Facebook post by the Air Force Command of UA Armed Forces, control over the Bayraktar TB2 drone was lost during a planned flight, and because the uncontrolled presence of a drone above the capital could lead to undesirable consequences, it was decided to shoot it down. The debris of the drone fell on a trade and office center, resulting in a fire. Ukrainian officials reported that no one was injured in the incident. EPA-EFE/STEPAN FRANKO
