A drone attack on a major oil pumping station in southern Russia, reportedly involving seven drones, was carried out on Monday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. More than 20 Ukrainian drones, as stated by the ministry, were sent to the Krasnodar region.
The attack on the Kropotinskaja pumping station, a project involving US companies, was carried out in the early morning hours on Monday, according to a press release from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). The drones, filled with explosives and metal elements, targeted the facility, which is a major oil transportation project in the global market.
CPC is one of the largest international oil pipeline projects in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), involving Russia, Kazakhstan and a consortium of leading oil companies, including the US giant Chevron.
The pipeline system primarily transports crude oil from fields in western Kazakhstan and Russia. By 2024, US companies were expected to control around 40 percent of the oil deliveries through the CPC.
“The attack was timed to not only disrupt the station’s operations but also put the lives of the station’s employees at risk” the CPC statement said, adding that the Kropotinskaja pumping station is currently out of operation due to the attack.
Neither the company nor the Russian Defense Ministry reported any human casualties. The company informed all stakeholders, including representatives of US and European companies, about the terrorist drone attack on a civilian target and its consequences.