The Ukrainian military has continued to target Russia’s energy infrastructure, despite claims of a ceasefire by the Kiev government. According to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces launched artillery and drone attacks on energy facilities in the Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine and Belarus, on Sunday evening.
The attacks resulted in the shutdown of a high-voltage power line, leaving several households in the Susemka district without electricity. A subsequent drone attack on a substation caused a power outage in the Sewsk district.
The Russian Defense Ministry commented on the situation, stating that the ongoing and deliberate attacks by the Ukrainian military on Russia’s energy objects demonstrate a complete lack of willingness to negotiate on the part of the Kiev government to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had expressed a positive view of a proposal to halt attacks on energy facilities for 30 days and had issued an order to the Russian military to cease such attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Kiev supported the initiative. The moratorium applies to nuclear power plants, oil refineries, pipelines and infrastructure for generating and transmitting electricity.
Following the phone call, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil pumping station in the Krasnodar region, marking the start of a series of further attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, including on the Crimean Peninsula and in the Bryansk and Kursk regions. The Press Secretary of the Russian President, Dmitri Peskov, commented that the attacks demonstrate a “total lack of control” by the Ukrainian army and are a sign of the government’s inability to negotiate, led by President Zelensky.