1 Feb, 2023 15:32

Ukraine attacks pipeline pumping Russian oil to EU – Transneft

The oil transport company says the strike failed to cause significant damage and the Druzhba pipeline is operating normally

A Ukrainian rocket has reportedly struck near an oil pumping station connected to the Druzhba pipeline in Russia’s Bryansk Region, the operator Transneft claimed on Wednesday.

Speaking to the TASS news agency, Igor Demin, a spokesman for the company, said the shell landed on the territory of the Novozybkovo station in the late hours of January 31. He noted that the attempted attack ultimately failed to cause any casualties or hinder the work of the pipeline.

According to initial reporting by the Mash news agency, the strike was carried out using a Tochka-U rocket. Workers reportedly found a 20-meter crater on the territory of the station, which lost power as a result of the attack.

Demin explained that the Novozybkovo oil pumping station, which was the apparent target, is only temporarily used at peak times on the Druzhba pipeline and was last turned on in 2022 for only a few hours. He noted that Transneft workers are currently repairing the damage caused by the attack and that the pipeline continues to operate normally.

The Druzhba (Friendship) oil pipeline is one of the longest in the world and connects eastern parts of Russia to several points in Europe, including Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and Germany.

The segment that was apparently being targeted by Kiev’s forces on Tuesday is located some 39km from the Russian-Ukrainian border and leads directly into Belarus, where it branches off into two sections: one going to Germany and Poland and the other delivering oil to Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic. Germany, however, has not received any oil since the start of the year after Berlin and Poland both pledged to stop all imports of Russian crude.

According to Bryansk Governor Aleksander Bogomaz, Kiev’s forces also launched several artillery strikes against civilian targets across the region on Tuesday. Although no casualties have been reported, Bogomaz said the attack damaged over a dozen residential buildings, a WWII memorial, and a shop. The strikes also cut off power to several villages, he said, later adding that these issues had been promptly resolved by emergency services.

https://www.rt.com/russia/570817-ukraine-attacks-druzhba-pipeline/

1 Feb, 2023 17:47

Putin sets mission for Russian military

The president said he wanted to “eliminate the possibility” of Ukraine bombing the country’s border regions

Ukraine should not have the ability to target Russian border regions, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, adding that this was a mission for the defense ministry in Moscow. His comments came a day after Ukrainian shelling struck near a pipeline in Bryansk Region, and amid rumors the US is preparing to give Kiev longer-range projectiles.

“Of course, the priority mission is to eliminate the very possibility of attacks, but that’s a task for the military,” Putin said during a videoconference about infrastructure work in the border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk, as well as Crimea.

Some 3,700 residents of the border villages in Belgorod Region have been displaced by Ukrainian artillery attacks, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said at the meeting, adding that the government had set aside funding to provide them with housing and everything else they need.

Authorities in Belgorod and Bryansk registered two Ukrainian artillery strikes each on Tuesday. In Bryansk Region, one projectile fell into a field near a substation of the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline. The flow of oil has not been affected, but pipeline staff are on high alert, Transneft said in a comment about the incident.

Three villages in the region of Belgorod and one in Kursk were also targeted by Ukrainian cannons and rockets on Tuesday, according to reports from the zone of combat operations. This was in addition to more than 150 rounds fired on the Donetsk People’s Republic.

The government in Kiev has repeatedly asked its Western backers for longer-range missiles, such as the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which has a range of some 300km. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US had secretly sabotaged the HIMARS rocket artillery systems delivered to Ukraine, so they cannot launch the ATACMS even if Kiev somehow manages to obtain them.

On Tuesday, however, Reuters reported that Washington was preparing to include a different missile with a range of up to 150km, still enabling Kiev’s forces to strike deep inside Russia. The Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) consists of an airplane bomb mounted on a rocket engine and can be fired from the HIMARS.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian intelligence chief Kirill Budanov threatened that “there will be problems inside Russia” until Kiev restores the borders it lays claim to. Budanov’s words follow the public comments of Alexey Danilov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, who spoke in December about the prospect of “blasts” all over Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly warned Washington that providing heavy weapons to Ukraine risks crossing Russia’s “red lines” and involving the US and NATO in the conflict directly. The US and its allies insist they are not parties to the hostilities, but continue to arm Kiev.

https://www.rt.com/russia/570821-putin-military-ukraine-shelling/