At least one person was killed and two were injured in an explosion that caused a fire at an FSB Border Service Department building in Russia, local authorities said.
The security service building is in the port city of Rostov-on-Don, near the Ukrainian border in the southeast of Russia.
Local residents heard an explosion and then black smoke started pouring out of the building, according to local media reports.
“Emergency services were dispatched… details are being clarified,” the press office of the emergency services in Rostov-on-Don said in comments carried by the state-run TASS news agency.
It is not yet clear what caused the explosion.
There have been several incidents of reported sabotage attributed to Ukrainian partisans within Russian territory since the Kremlin deployed troops to Ukraine in February last year.
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged Russia’s billionaires and business elite to invest in new technology, production facilities and enterprises to help Russia overcome what he said were Western attempts to destroy its economy.
He told the business leaders that Russia was facing a “sanctions war” but was swiftly reorienting its economy towards countries that had not imposed sanctions on Russia, and thanked them for working to help the Russian state.
Putin also said Russia had so far defied those attempts, and that the Western firms that had decided to stay in Russia rather than flee in a corporate exodus last year had made a smart decision.
He was meeting with Russia’s leading billionaires in person for the first time since Feb. 24 last year, the day he launched what he called his “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Billionaires Oleg Deripaska, Vladimir Potanin, Alexei Mordashov, German Khan, Viktor Vekselberg, Viktor Rashnikov, Andrei Melnichenko and Dmitry Mazepin – whose interests range from metals and banking to fertilisers – were among those attending on Thursday, according to images from the gathering.
Zelensky marks one year since bombing of Mariupol theatre
Volodymyr Zelensky has posted a note on Telegram to commemorate a year since the Mariupol theatre bombing.
“A year ago, Russia deliberately and brutally dropped a powerful bomb on the Drama Theatre in Mariupol. Next to the building was the inscription ‘Children’, which was impossible to overlook.
“Hundreds of people were hiding from the shelling there.
“Step by step, we are moving towards ensuring that the terrorist state is fully held to account for what it has done to our country and our people.”
The Kremlin said Thursday that Russia was not a threat to Finland, ahead of the Finnish president’s visit to Turkey, which is expected to approve Helsinki’s NATO bid.
“We have many times expressed regret over Finland and Sweden’s move toward membership and said many times that Russia does not pose a threat to these countries,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“We do not have any dispute with these countries… They have never posed any threat to us and, logically, we did not threaten them,” Mr Peskov said.
Finland and Sweden dropped decades-long policies of military non-alignment and applied to join the western alliance last May in the wake of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.
Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have yet to ratify the countries’ applications, which must be accepted by all 30 existing members of the alliance.
Best way to protect Moldova is to protect Ukraine: Cleverly
The best way to defend Moldova from attack by Russia is to protect Ukraine, Britain’s foreign minister said on Thursday, though he declined to commit to sending arms directly.
Asked by reporters whether London planned military support to Moldova, James Cleverly said: “We strongly believe that one of the best ways of protecting Moldova from physical attack is helping the Ukrainians defend themselves against Russia.”
He was speaking on a visit to the eastern European country, where he announced £10 million of British aid for economic and governance reforms, including in the energy sector.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Moldova’s pro-Western government and its allies have feared it could be dragged into the conflict.
A leaked Kremlin document showed that Russia plans to effectively take control of the country by the end of the decade.
The nation of 2.5 million people borders Ukraine and has Russian peacekeepers stationed in the pro-Moscow breakaway Transdniestria region.
In recent months, Russian missiles aimed at Ukraine have entered Moldovan airspace while authorities have blamed the Kremlin for fuelling anti-government protests, which it denies.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu also accused Moscow in February of planning a coup to overthrow the government.
