Ukrainian soldiers operate a reconnaissance drone on the outskirts of the town of Bakhmut during the Russian attack on Ukraine near the front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 25, 2023.
Stringer | Reuters
Ukraine launched a series of drone strikes on Saturday targeting oil pipeline facilities in Russia, including a site serving the massive Druzhba pipeline that carries crude from West Siberia to Europe, Russian media reported.
Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia have become more frequent in recent weeks, with the New York Times reporting that U.S. intelligence agencies believe Ukraine was behind the drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month.
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Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged the attack on targets inside Russia. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
In the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, two drones attacked a site serving the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, one of the largest oil pipelines in the world, Kommersant reported.
The Tver regional council said a drone crashed near the village of Erokhino, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The Telegram channel Baza, which has good sources in the Russian security services, said the drone struck a site serving the Druzhba pipeline.
The Druzhba, built by the Soviet Union, can pump more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, but its utilization has declined as Europe seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian energy after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine last year. Seriously inadequate.
Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft said earlier this month that a gas station in Druzhba on Russia’s border with Ukraine had been attacked.
drone wars
The Russian Defense Ministry said at a daily briefing on the war in Ukraine that it had shot down 12 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours and intercepted two long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles supplied to Ukraine by Britain.
Russia also said it intercepted short-range US-made HIMARS missiles and HARM missiles. The ministry did not say where the interceptions took place, but reported fighting at forward locations.
Reuters could not immediately verify either party’s Battlefield accounts.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kiev officials have previously said the weapons supplied by the West would be used exclusively against Russian forces in Ukraine.
In the Pskov region of western Russia, two drones caused an explosion that damaged the administrative building of the oil pipeline, local governor Mikhail Vedernikov said. The incident happened near the village of Litvinovo, less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Russia-Belarus border.
“Temporarily, the building was damaged by the attack of two drones,” Vedernikov said.
In a separate incident, a construction worker was killed by Ukrainian shelling near the border with Ukraine in the Kursk region, the local governor said.