Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin who hosts the despot’s nuclear missiles in his territory , has delivered a chilling warning that the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict could spiral into a ‘worldwide confrontation.’

He declared: “This conflict must be frozen. The most dangerous thing is that this conflict will go on. And if the escalation is still there, the consequences might be very hard and very dangerous for Europe and for the entire world. “It will escalate into a global conflict. That is why we must extinguish this conflict right now when we have the opportunity.” This alarming declaration emerges as Ukraine and Russia conduct cross-border drone strikes, despite both nations weighing up America’s latest peace initiatives.

During a post-midnight assault, Ukrainian forces ignited several of Russia’s key oil facilities, whilst Moscow persisted with its bombardment of Ukrainian civilians.

These strikes form part of Kyiv’s tactical approach to devastate Russia’s capacity to bankroll its war against Ukraine by hitting the nation’s oil reserves, which provide funding for the military campaign.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is said to be weighing up American proposals that would provide security assurances to Kyiv in return for greater compromise on peace negotiations.

Meanwhile, no fewer than 18 major explosions rocked the city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban, representing the third occasion this year that the Slavyansk Oil Refinery has come under drone attack, according to The Mirror. Blasts from that strike persisted for roughly three years in one of Ukraine’s most major oil facility assaults in months – as further refineries were hit across other locations.

A considerable amount of the energy resources being transported to the front lines in backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conflict in Ukraine has originated from Slavyansk.

Drone strikes were also recorded through the night in the Russian territories of Saratov and Engels, both containing oil installations, and previously targeted.

A district of Yeysk in the Russian territory of Krasnodar Krai was also hit earlier today in assaults that sparked enormous fireballs.

The Yeysk seaport contains a fuel oil and petroleum products facility.

Russia’s Defence Ministry stated its air defences “intercepted and destroyed” 94 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 31 over Krasnodar Krai, 22 over Rostov region, and eight over Saratov region.

Russia launched counter-strikes against the provinces of Kharkiv and Odesa.

Ukraine is reportedly weighing up US NATO-style security guarantees in the latest ceasefire proposals.

It is understood Kyiv is mulling over abandoning its NATO membership ambitions in return for US security guarantees. The nation is also considering a US proposal that the disputed Donbas region – which Russia covets – could become a ‘free economic zone.

In response to Ukraine’s recent attacks on Moscow’s oil installations, Russian commanders launched dozens of explosive drones across the frontier.

The weaponry, launched from various directions, caused extensive destruction and casualties throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.

Russian forces unleashed two waves of drone assaults on the southern Odesa region, inflicting considerable damage to transport infrastructure.

Nearly 300,000 households in that area are presently without electricity amid bitter weather conditions.

Civilian locations in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv were also targeted by Russian drone bombardments.

Ivan Fedorov, the Regional Governor of Zaporizhzhia, revealed that Russian forces were assaulting the city and had hit a residential building.

He stated in a report: “In the regional center, two residential buildings were hit.”

He added, “Preliminary reports suggest there may be people under the rubble.”

Subsequently, he confirmed that at least 26 individuals, including one child, were wounded in the Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia and its surrounding region.