This will temporarily halt the strike on the energy infrastructure as Kiev and Moscow prepare for negotiations, both sides continue to accuse each other of new attacks on the power grid, highlighting the deep distrust between them.
Overnight, by Friday, part of a major Russian gas station near the Ukrainian border was shot in a blaming attack between Ukraine and Russia. Unverified videos shared by Russian military bloggers show fires at the station, once pumping air from Europe through Ukraine, seemingly swallowed by pipes.
Also on Friday, Russian authorities in the southwestern region of Krasnodar reported fuel warehouses that had burned two days after the Ukrainian drone attack. Russian officials said the fire had spread to 100,000 square feet.
Kiev and Moscow agreed this week to a limited 30-day ceasefire against energy infrastructure, the first step in the war’s downgrade for more than three years.
However, details about how such a partial truce will be held and when it is not resolved remain unresolved and are expected to hammer in a US-mediated talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Ukrainian National Railway said on Wednesday that its power system had been attacked. On the same day, Russia said Ukrainian drones attacked fuel warehouses in the Krasnodar region. Neither claim can be independently verified.
Both sides are interested in blaming the other for a ceasefire violation before it begins and trying to portray their opponents as people who are distrustful. Against this backdrop, Friday’s attack on Russian gas stations is perfect for this propaganda war.
The gas station is located on the border near the town of Suzha, where Ukrainian troops invaded the Kursk region in western Russia last summer. However, recent Russian advances have delayed Ukrainian troops from all areas except a piece of land, and it is unclear whether they still control the stations as of Friday.
Russia’s commission of inquiry, the country’s main federal investigative body, announced Friday that it had opened a criminal investigation into the incident. It said the Ukrainian army “had intentionally exploded the Sudzha gas distribution station” and caused “huge damage”.
However, Ukrainian military suggested that the explosion was a “false” operation by Russia, aiming to blame Ukraine. It said Russia had repeatedly “repeated shelling” the station in the past because it fought back against Ukrainian troops in the region.
“Russians continue to create many fakes and try to mislead the international community,” the Army said in a Facebook post.
Ivan Nechepurenko Contribution report.
