Putin humiliated as Russian port burns after huge Ukrainian attack during peace talks

Putin humiliated as Russian port burns after huge Ukrainian attack during peace talks Ukrainian drones struck the port of Ust-Luga in Russia's Leningrad region, sparking a huge fire that was visible from NATO state Estonia Ukrainian drones struck one of Vladimir Putin's key oil exporting ports, sparking a huge fire that was visible from NATO state Estonia. Explosions broke out at Ust-Luga Baltic Sea port, in Russia's north-west Leningrad region, overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday. The drone strike and flames in the sky were visible across the Narva Bay from Estonia - a distance of at least 15 miles. Three workers were injured in the attack and a power station was cut off, regional governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said on Telegram. He said 150 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region that is home to the city of St Petersburg, Putin's hometown. The attack triggered major flight disruption in St Petersburg, and Helsinki imposed temporary airspace restrictions in the eastern Gulf of Finland. The Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia warned of a drone threat, with NATO fighter jets scrambled in Lithuania due to an "unidentified aerial object". It came on the second day of peace talks brokered by the US in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi. Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that the Russian senior military and intelligence officers at the talks on Tuesday claimed Putin's troops were in control of half the territory in Donetsk region currently held by Ukrainian troops. This amounts to an area of around 1,000 square miles, almost twice the size of Greater London. “Our team told them, 'We don't understand how you can even say such things. We have video recordings, photographs, and other evidence that these territories are under our control.’” Zelensky said: “That’s the problem. Putin lives in a different reality. Of course, he will tell the Americans that he needs one or two months to completely occupy eastern Ukraine. "I could draw him a picture of me completely occupying Russia. But it's not true. The positive thing is that the American side confirmed the Ukrainian assessment of what is happening on the battlefield." He again demanded to meet Putin face to face to make a peace agreement. Russian attacks overnight hit Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky’s birthplace. The targets included power plants, part of a Putin campaign to freeze Ukraine into submission as temperatures this week sink below zero in parts of the country. Homes, schools and kindergartens were damaged in the Russian attack on civilians, and part of the city was plunged into darkness.