Russia Ukraine war live: Oil depot in Belgorod hit as Kyiv targets occupied Crimea with ‘massive’ strike

But one family has been left “heartbroken and outraged” after their loved one was left out of the historic deal.

American teacher Marc Fogel, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been held in a Russian prison for the last three years after he was arrested in August 2021 for possession of 17 grams of medical cannabis.

Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was freed by Russia in the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, said he was unaware of the developments and thought he was being led to his death.

The British-Russian citizen told Sky News he knew nothing about a prisoner swap while being taken from his prison cell in Siberia to be transferred to Moscow.

“The night I was taken from my cell in Siberia, as I now know to be taken in preparation for this, I was almost certain I was being led out to be executed,” he said.

Kara-Murza was arrested in April 2022 for speaking out against the war in Ukraine, charged a year later then kept in solitary confinement, in a Siberian penal colony more than 9,000km from his family in the US state of Virginia, for a year until his eventual exchange.

The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free, officials said.

The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Drones struck an oil depot in Russia’s Belogorod Oblast overnight, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

The attack caused an explosion at the facility in the region’s Gubkinsky district, located near the Ukraine border.

A tank was also set alight by the explosion, the governor said, adding there have been no reports of casualties.

Turkey has launched a newly built anti-submarine warship that is due to be delivered to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, attended the launch event of the Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi.

Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, said: “Corvettes Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi and [previously launched] Hetman Ivan Mazepa, which were built in Turkey due to Russian aggression, are equipped with cutting-edge weapons and will become a significant addition to our fleet.

“Ukraine has already broken the dominance of the Russian fleet at sea, destroying dozens of ships. We are actively expanding the capabilities of the Ukrainian navy in the Black and Azov seas.”

It remains uncertain when either warship will reach Ukraine, as the Montreux Convention generally restricts warring parties’ warships from entering or exiting the Black Sea through the Bosphorus, which is controlled by Turkey.

Ukraine launched more long-range drone attacks than Russia in July for the first time since the war began.

According to figures published by the Ukrainian army, Russia launched 426 Shahed-type drones into Ukraine and Kyiv hit back with over 520 drones.

It comes as Russia has faced destructive attacks on its oil refineries and other targets in recent months appearing less effective in shooting down the Ukrainian weapons.

The Ukrainian drone attacks were considerably more than 200 attacks in each of the previous two months.

Fragments from at least four drones downed by Russian air defences struck areas of the port of Sevastopol early on Friday in Russian-occupied Crimea, the Russia-appointed governor said.

Mikhail Razvozhaev, writing on Telegram, said no injuries were recorded. He said fragments of intercepted drones had landed on a street, on a lawn, on a roof and in a courtyard.

Ukrainian forces have claimed considerable success in their regular attacks on Crimea as part of what they see as a long-range drive to recapture the peninsula.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 following unrest which forced a Russia-friendly president from office in Kyiv. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin proclaimed Crimea part of Russia “forever”.

Ukraine‘s military has said its strikes have forced Russia‘s navy to reposition or withdraw vessels from parts of Crimea.

The British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza is one of the faces of the anti-Kremlin resistance. Following the death of Alexei Navalny in February, he became the best-known Putin critic imprisoned in Russia.

The 42-year-old University of Cambridge graduate was arrested in April 2022 hours after CNN broadcast an interview in which he said Russia was being run by a “regime of murderers”.

Russian forces are advancing gradually towards the key strategic city of Pokrovsk in the eastern region of Donetsk, as Ukraine struggles with soldier shortages as delays in military aid from the West hold up the equipping of fresh brigades.

Pokrovsk, which serves as a key supply route for other Ukrainian outposts, has become the main focus of fighting in the last few weeks. Military analysts fear that Ukrainian equipment is insufficient to hold off the advance – although they expect the Russian offensive to slow down as it reaches more built-up areas.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed in the last few days it had taken control of Prohres and Yevhenivka – two villages to the east of Pokrovsk – with efforts now focussed on making a breakthrough closer to Pokrovsk.