Azernews.Az

Akbar Novruz

Read more

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Tuesday that Moscow is ready to resume negotiations with Kyiv at any time, AzerNEWS reports.

"We're ready to resume them at any time, picking up exactly where they left off," Lavrov said at a Foreign Ministry event. Furthermore, the minister commented on the European Union's efforts to be part of the negotiating process, claiming that all the bloc's initiatives "have failed" and added that there is no need to take European initiatives "seriously now."

"We are currently facing a situation in which any possibility of negotiations on an equal footing is being rejected by the bureaucrats in Brussels and their accomplices in Berlin, Paris, and London. Let me emphasize once again: they want revenge, to make Russia capitulate and accept the annexation of Ukraine, led by the current Nazi regime, by either the North Atlantic Alliance or the European Union," Lavrov stressed.

Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack on the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula overnight into June 23.

The media outlets informs one of the strikes targeted a thermal power plant located in the Arshintsevo district of Kerch.

According to available information, a major fire broke out at the facility, resulting in widespread power outages across parts of the peninsula. Reports indicated that nearly half of Crimea was left without electricity following the attack.

Satellite imagery also reportedly detected a smoke plume stretching approximately 47 kilometers from the affected area.

The Crimea-installed authorities attributed the power outages to what they described as “technological disruptions” in the electricity grid. Officials said efforts were underway to restore power supplies within 24 hours.

In a separate incident, Ukrainian drone strikes reportedly sparked a fire at the Nasosnaya-2 substation in the Sovetsky district. Residents later reported that the TES-Terminal petroleum storage complex had also come under attack.

Sources further indicated that the Port Kavkaz facility was targeted, triggering a fire at a nearby oil storage site. Videos purportedly showing the aftermath of the strike quickly circulated on social media platforms.

The Crimean Wind monitoring group, citing satellite data, reported multiple fire outbreaks across the peninsula, particularly in the vicinity of Port Kavkaz.

Additional fires were reported near the entrance to Kerch, at the Yuzhnaya railway station, and close to the settlement of Bagerovo. Authorities temporarily suspended traffic on the Kerch Bridge and issued a drone threat alert as a precautionary measure.

The reports could not be independently verified, and no official Ukrainian statement regarding the operation was immediately available.