Ukraine Claims Strike on Key Russian Fuel Pipeline Near Moscow
KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine said Saturday it struck a key fuel pipeline in Russia, near Moscow, disrupting the supply of petroleum products to the Russian capital.details remain limited, but the reported attack marks a meaningful escalation in Ukraine’s ability to strike deep inside Russian territory.
The strike targeted a pipeline owned by Transneft,a Russian state-controlled pipeline operator,and resulted in a fire,according to Ukrainian intelligence sources. While the extent of the damage and disruption is still being assessed, the incident underscores Ukraine’s increasingly assertive strategy of targeting Russian energy infrastructure in response to ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine’s own critical systems.
Russia’s Defense ministry has not yet commented on the reported attack. Though,local authorities in Zhukovsky,a city southeast of Moscow,reported a large-scale power outage Saturday,attributing it to an “automatic equipment shutdown,” though a connection to the pipeline incident has not been confirmed.
The attack comes amid a surge in Russian drone and missile strikes targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing widespread power outages and restrictions. Kyiv has described these attacks as a intentional “systematic energy terror.” In response, Ukraine has intensified its own strikes on Russian territory, utilizing drones to target military facilities, logistics hubs, and now, critical energy infrastructure.
Elsewhere Saturday,Russian nighttime strikes killed one and wounded 19 in the southern Mykolaiv region,including a 9-year-old girl,local official vitaliy Kim said.A fire also broke out at a gas plant in the central Poltava region following a Russian strike.
Ukraine’s air force reported intercepting 206 of 223 drones launched by Russia overnight into Saturday, with 17 striking targets in seven Ukrainian regions. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down or intercepted 98 Ukrainian drones, including six approaching Moscow.