Ukraine claims strike on key Russian facility supplying fuel to Moscow's army
Ukrainian forces struck a diesel pumping station in western Russia, an important facility providing fuel to the Russian Armed Forces, Ukraine's General Staff reported on Aug. 29.
The pumping station near the village of Naytopovichi in Bryansk Oblast, a Russian region bordering Ukraine and Belarus, was hit overnight in a joint operation by missile forces, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces, and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the military said.
The attack comes amid escalating Ukrainian attacks against Russian energy facilities and logistical infrastructure in an effort to undermine Moscow's ability to wage its all-out war.
"A fire has been recorded on the territory of the facility," the General Staff reported. "The consequences of the attack are being determined."
The facility, roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the Russia-Ukraine border, pumps diesel fuel through petroleum product pipelines, primarily supplying Russian forces, according to the statement.
The station's capacity is about 10.5 million metric tons of fuel per year.
The General Staff accompanied its statement with footage that purports to show the consequences of the attack, with two explosions and a powerful blaze visible in the video.
Bryansk Oblast Governor Alexander Bogomaz said that 18 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones were downed over the region overnight, reporting no casualties. He made no mention of a possible attack against the pumping station.
"Emergency services are working on site," Bogomaz said on Telegram.
The facility lies close to the Unecha oil pumping station, a part of the Druzhba oil pipeline hit in a Ukrainian drone attack on Aug. 21. The attack sparked a backlash from Hungary, one of the two remaining EU countries still purchasing Russian oil via the pipeline.
