Ukraine Drones Hit Russian Oil Sites; Kyiv Denies Nuclear Plant Strike (Worthy News Radio)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

KYIV/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukraine said Sunday that its drones struck several Russian energy targets deep inside Russia, including an oil refinery and a key pumping station, while denying Moscow’s claim that it also targeted Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

Ukraine’s General Staff, the central military command and control body, confirmed that Ukrainian drones had struck the Saratov oil refinery in southwestern Russia, causing what it described as a “large-scale fire.”

It said the extent of the damage was still being assessed and claimed the refinery had been supplying Moscow’s war effort.

Saratov regional governor Roman Busargin acknowledged that civilian infrastructure had been damaged in the strike, but provided no further details.

PIPELINE STATION HIT

Kyiv said it had also struck the Lazarevo pumping station in Russia’s Kirov region, northeast of Moscow ,and about 1,300 kilometers, or 800 miles, from Ukrainian-held territory.

The facility serves the Surgut-Gorky-Polotsk pipeline, which transports Russian oil from Siberia to Belarus.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had downed 216 Ukrainian drones overnight, but regional authorities reported damage in several regions.

The attacks came as Ukraine suffered massive Russian drone strikes. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 229 drones overnight against targets across the country.

Most were reportedly intercepted, but officials said several drones reached their targets, including energy-related facilities.

ENERGY WAR ESCALATES

Ukraine says its campaign against Russian energy infrastructure is aimed at undermining funding for the more than four-year-long war that began when Russian forces launched their full-scale invasion in February 2022.

However, Ukraine’s military denied Moscow’s allegations that it had also targeted the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, in southeastern Ukraine.

Russia’s state nuclear company, Rosatom, said a drone exploded after striking a turbine hall at one of the reactors.

Ukraine rejected the claim, calling it propaganda and insisting it does not target nuclear facilities.

NUCLEAR SAFETY CONCERNS

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, expressed “serious concern” about the reported incident.

The IAEA said it had requested access to inspect the affected building as part of its monitoring mission at the Russian-occupied plant.

The Zaporizhzhia plant has repeatedly been at the center of international fears since Russia seized it early in the war, with both Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of endangering nuclear safety.

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