Unidentified explosions at two Russian military bases

Two Russian air bases were bombed on Monday, according to Russian media reports.

One of the blasts reportedly took place at a base that houses nuclear-capable strategic bombers that were involved in attacks on Ukraine.

Neither Ukrainian nor Russian authorities immediately commented on the possible cause of the blast.

Three servicemen were killed and six were injured when a fuel truck exploded at an air base in Ryazan, western Russia, in the early hours of Monday, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said.

A plane was also damaged in the blast at the base, which houses remote tankers used to refuel bombers in the air.

Separately, authorities in the Saratov region along the Volga said they were verifying reports of an explosion in the area of ​​the Engels airbase, which houses Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers that were involved in attacks on Ukraine. These bombers are capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

Roman Busarkin, governor of the Saratov region, said civilian installations had not been damaged, adding that authorities were checking military installations for any incidents.

Local media reported that a strong explosion was heard near the Engel base, and some residents said they saw a flash of light in the area.

Asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the Engel base explosion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said simply that the president was regularly informed about ongoing developments.

In Ukraine on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said three rockets hit his hometown of Kryvyi Rih in south-central Ukraine, killing a factory workers, wounding three others.

In the northeastern region of Kharkov, civilian infrastructure in the town of Kupyansk was hit by S-300 missiles, killing one person, the report said.

The war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 has displaced millions, killed and wounded countless civilians, and shaken the world economy — especially as prices and supplies of food, fertilizers, and fuel, major exports for Ukraine and Russia, have been affected product.

Western countries on Monday imposed a $60-a-barrel price cap and imposed a ban on certain types of Russian oil as part of new measures aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow over the war.

The move was rejected by the Kremlin and criticized by Mr Zelensky – whose government wants to halve the cap.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who is in charge of energy issues, warned in televised comments on Sunday that Russia would not sell its oil to countries trying to impose price caps.

“We will only sell oil and oil products to countries that are willing to cooperate with us under market conditions, even if we have to reduce production somewhat,” he said in a televised address hours before the price cap came into effect.

The European bloc of 27 countries has also imposed an embargo on Russian oil transported by sea.

Russia, the world’s second-largest oil producer, which relies on oil and gas sales to prop up its economy, is already under sweeping international sanctions over Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Russia has been hitting Ukrainian infrastructure – including power plants – with military strikes in recent weeks and has continued its offensive in the east, particularly in and around the town of Bahmut.

Russian forces have also been digging around the southern city of Kherson, which was retaken by Ukrainian forces last month after an eight-month occupation.