'Powerful explosion' rocks Russian oil pipeline supplying Moscow, intelligence source claims
An explosion on Aug. 26 started a fire at the Ryazan-Moscow oil pipeline, a key petroleum product supply route for the Russian capital, a source in Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent.
Local media reported a powerful fire near the village of Bozhatkovo on the outskirts of Ryazan on the evening of Aug. 26, with emergency services and repair crews reportedly deployed to contain the blaze and repair damage. Russian Telegram channels claimed that a loud blast could be heard at a section of the main pipeline.
As a result of the "powerful explosion... the transportation of petroleum products to Moscow (via the pipeline) has been suspended indefinitely," the HUR source claimed on Aug. 27. The cause of the explosion was not specified.
Since 2018, the pipeline has been repurposed by Transneft, a state-run pipeline operator, to supply automobile gasoline to Moscow. The source noted that the company also supplies fuel to the Russian military.
Transneft and the regional officials have not publicly commented on the fire or its possible causes. According to the HUR source, Transneft is currently assessing the damage.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Ryazan lies roughly 180 kilometers (120 miles) from Moscow and some 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.
Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted Russian energy infrastructure through sabotage operations and drone strikes throughout the full-scale war, aiming to undermine Moscow's gas and oil revenues.
