INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Moscow escalated its attacks in Ukraine on Saturday, with President Volodymyr Zelensky denouncing a deadly strike on a blood transfusion
centre as a "war crime."A separate strike struck a key factory, both attacks coming just hours after Kyiv hit a Russian tanker in the Kerch
Strait.The attacks were the latest since Moscow exited a deal last month that had ensured Ukrainian grain exports despite the ongoing
wounded are reported."A "guided air bomb" hit the centre in Kupiansk, a city a few dozen kilometres from the Russian border, said
Zelensky."Rescuers are extinguishing the fire," he wrote on social media, adding: "This war crime alone says everything about Russian
aggression."The strike came shortly after Zelensky said Russian missiles had hit a facility of the Ukrainian aeronautics group Motor Sich, a
maker of plane and helicopter engines and other components.It is one of several companies requisitioned by the government since Moscow's
the Russian strikes had hit the Motor Sich headquarters.In his evening address, Zelensky remained defiant, insisting that "no matter how
many such Russian attacks there are, they will still do nothing for the enemy."Attack on fuel tankerEarlier Saturday, Ukraine claimed it
"blew up" a Russian tanker, the SIG, that was transporting fuel for Russian troops, a Ukrainian security source told AFP.The tanker was hit
at the waterline in the area of the engine room but was still afloat, the agency said.In a video obtained by AFP purporting to show the
attack, a vessel is seen approaching a large ship before the connection cuts off.The Ukrainian source said the "successful special
operation," which involved a naval drone and explosives, was carried out jointly with the navy in Ukrainian territorial waters.The SIG oil
and chemical tanker is under U.S
sanctions for supplying jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria, who are supporting President Bashar al-Assad.Crimea focusThe Russian foreign
ministry condemned the attack on a "civilian vessel," adding that the crew had not been injured.Traffic on a key bridge across the Kerch
Russian highways information centre's Telegram channel.Crimea has been disrupted by several strikes throughout the war but it has seen more
draw Ukrainian resources to the east, as Ukraine pursues its counter-offensive in the south.Ukraine began a fresh attempt in June to push
back Russian troops but it has made only modest progress, its forces contending with well-entrenched Russian positions built up over several
months.With both sides focused on winning on the battlefield, any chance to secure peace looks thin.Saudi Arabia is nevertheless hosting
concluded Saturday and as expected, no final declaration was released.But a European source said there had been agreement that respect for
Ukraine's "territorial integrity and sovereignty" should be "at the heart of any peace settlement."
