Russia strikes energy facilities in Ukraine
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The Russian aerospace forces confirmed targetting and hitting "electric power facilities, gas production facilities, and assembly and testing sites for unmanned boats."
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Taken from a video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, March 22, 2024, a Russian self-propelled multiple rocket launcher fires rockets in Ukraine (AP)
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Sunday that their aerospace forces executed high-precision missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian power facilities over the past 24 hours.
It said in a statement, "Tonight, the Russian Aerospace Forces launched a group strike with long-range airborne precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles against electric power facilities, gas production facilities, and assembly and testing sites for unmanned boats."
It also asserted that all targets were hit while destroying "the work of industrial enterprises for the production and repair of weapons, military equipment and ammunition," and "foreign military equipment and means of destruction transferred to Ukraine by NATO countries were destroyed."
Meanwhile, Russian air defense systems dismantled 172 Ukrainian drones, 11 Storm Shadow cruise missiles and three Neptun anti-ship missiles, 22 multiple launch rocket system shells, and other targets.
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Russian airstrikes on Kharkov kill some 30 Ukrainian troops
In separate but related news, Mykolaiv underground network coordinator Sergei Lebedev revealed to Sputnik that an attack by Russian forces on targets in Kharkov, including the location of the Lyut assault brigade, killed approximately 30 Ukrainian soldiers.
"On March 23, there was a series of attacks on military facilities in Kharkiv, which hit the dormitories of the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, known in Kharkiv as the Interior Ministry's school Bandurki," Lebedev asserted.
He continued that neo-nazis resided in the dormitory and the university itself, adding that the presence of foreign service members was being verified.
"Kharkiv residents say that there was a military camp in the sanatorium. Whether it was the Ukrainian armed forces or the national battalions is still unclear. What is known is that the military who were in the sanatorium had a lot of weapons and equipment. Our agents say that the number of deaths is approximately 30," Lebedev added.
Just yesterday, Russian air defenses intercepted 12 Ukrainian drones over four regions and destroyed them.
"Several drone attacks" were witnessed on local oil refineries in the region of Samara, according to Governor Dmitri Azarov on Telegram, who added that one of them caused a fire at the Kuibyshev refinery, but no casualties were reported.
The Kuibyshev refinery, run by Russian oil giant Rosneft, is Samara's largest as it produces around seven million tonnes per year, according to its official website. Another attack via drones targeting the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the region "was repelled without damaging the technological equipment," according to Azarov.
This comes after the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing sources, that the US called on Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian energy facilities, fearing that these strikes could send oil prices higher and provoke a retaliation by Moscow.
Ukrainian top political and military officials have received repeated warnings from Washington to refrain from such attacks.
One source told the newspaper that Washington had "grown increasingly frustrated" by the "brazen" drone attacks carried out by Ukrainian forces against Russian energy infrastructure, including oil refineries, storage facilities, and depots - which is impacting Russia's oil output capacity.
Moreover, the US is concerned that Russia could respond to these attacks by striking energy infrastructure "relied on by the West," FT added.
