Russia vows response as Saudi summit to find peace settlement to conflict starts

MOSCOW/KYIV — Moscow strongly condemns Kyiv's "terrorist attack" on a Russian civilian ship in the Kerch Strait, Russia said on Saturday, as a summit on finding a peaceful settlement to the conflict kicked off in Saudi Arabia.

A Ukrainian drone attacked a Russian oil tanker in the Kerch Strait, causing damage to the engine room of the tanker, but no casualties, the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Center of Novorossiysk said on Saturday.

The attack "not only threatened the safety of the crew, but also posed the threat of a large-scale environmental catastrophe," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

The Kyiv administration "facing no condemnation from Western countries and international organizations, is busy applying new terrorist methods, this time in the waters of the Black Sea", she added.

"Such barbaric actions cannot be justified and they will not remain without response, while their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished," she said.

The Black Sea is becoming an increasingly important battleground in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, observers say.

Last month, the Black Sea grain deal collapsed after Russia's withdrawal. Ukrainian authorities have been exploring alternative trade routes for grain export, such as establishing a new "grain corridor "through the territorial waters of Romania, Turkiye and Bulgaria. Other options for companies seeking to bring Ukrainian grain to the global market are exports via rail, road and the ports of the Danube River.

Ukraine on Friday struck the Olenegorsky Gornyak vessel at the Novorossiysk base, a Ukrainian security source told Agence France-Presse, "to show that Ukraine can attack any Russian warship in that zone".

Russia said it had repelled the attempted attack.

In other developments, Russia's Defense Ministry said Saturday it captured a settlement in Ukraine's easternmost Lugansk region. "In the area of Kupiansk … the settlement of Novoselivske was liberated," the ministry wrote on Telegram.

Meanwhile, a meeting on the Ukraine crisis began on Saturday in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.

A source from the Ukrainian delegation told Al Arabiya News that during the meeting, the 10-point peace plan proposed by Ukraine was backed by several countries.

The meeting, attended by security advisers and representatives from some 40 countries, aims to work out a solution that will achieve permanent peace and reduce the humanitarian repercussions of the Ukraine crisis, according to Al Ekhbariya News.

Through the meeting, the Saudi government looks forward to reinforcing dialogue and cooperation at the international level.

Solution sought

It also aims to ensure a solution to the crisis through political and diplomatic means and in a way that strengthens international peace and security.

Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui attended the meeting at the invitation of Saudi Arabia.

It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday promised a fresh round of institutional "cleaning".

"Next week will be a continuation of our work on cleaning state institutions of those who tried to drag from the past all those old habits, old schemes that weakened Ukraine for a very long time, for decades," he said in his nightly address.

Zelensky gave no details about who might be a target. He has recently expressed indignation at corruption uncovered during an audit of Ukraine's military recruitment centers, but is anxious to root out graft in general as he presses to join NATO and the European Union.

On Saturday he vowed "no more old formats" in Ukraine. "Whoever a person is, a military commissar, a deputy, or an official, everyone must work only for the interests of the state," he said.

Agencies - Xinhua