Russia, Ukraine tit-for-tat strikes target energy infrastructure

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) — Russia and Ukraine exchanged a series of airstrikes on Saturday mainly targeting each other's energy infrastructure.

An oil refinery in the city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban in Russia's southern Krasnodar region partially suspended operations after a Ukrainian drone attack last night, said refinery official Eduard Trutnev.

He said at least 10 drones struck the refinery, causing a major blaze that firefighters and rescue services were still trying to put out.

The complete assessment of the damages will only be possible after the cleanup, he added.

Krasnodar’s regional governor, Veniamin Kondratiev, said Ukraine launched a massive overnight attack on energy infrastructures and oil refineries in three districts.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said 66 drones were jammed and shot down over Krasnodar.

On the Ukrainian front, state-owned energy company Naftogaz said several of its natural gas facilities were damaged in Russian attacks Saturday.

The company did not specify the location, type, or level of damage suffered by the facilities.

"This morning, as a result of shelling by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, Naftogaz's gas infrastructure facilities were damaged," the company said on Facebook.

Naftogaz, however, assured that the strikes would not affect services for Ukrainian consumers.

In a separate statement, Ukrainian energy holding DTEK reported that four thermal power plants were seriously damaged in Russian airstrikes, without providing further details.

Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook that energy facilities in the Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv regions were damaged.