Ukraine attacks oil refineries in Russia days before Putin’s re-election chances

(CNN) — Ukraine launched drone strikes overnight against three oil refineries inside Russia, a Ukrainian defense source told CNN on Wednesday, as Kiev stepped up its cross-border attacks days before President Vladimir Putin’s anticipated re-election. Have given.

The source told CNN that Ukraine is “implementing a deliberate strategy to undermine Russian economic potential.”

The three Russian oil refineries attacked are in the cities of Ryazan, about 210 kilometers southeast of Moscow; Kstovo, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, about 483 kilometers east of the capital; and Kirishi, in north-western Russia. According to the source, these three facilities are among the largest refineries in Russia.

Later on Wednesday, Andrey Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s defense intelligence, said that a fourth oil refinery called Novoshakhtinsky, located in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don region, was attacked, but that Kiev played down its involvement. Not confirmed. Stroke.

Asked to comment on reports that the Novoshakhtinsky oil refinery was attacked, Yusov commented: “Yes, there was a series of incidents at military facilities of the aggressor country.”

According to this latest report, four Russian refineries have already been attacked in the last 24 hours.

“Although it appears to be an oil plant, it is a military installation used to supply and maintain the occupation forces,” Yusov said during an interview on national television. Yusov said, “The company’s operations are currently suspended. This means that the enemy will have problems and interruptions in its plans and our defenders will have additional opportunities and time. We will not comment on further details.”

This is the second consecutive day of Ukrainian attacks against Russian energy facilities, and the sites attacked are part of a series of attacks on Russian territory.

“Our goal is to strip our enemy of resources and reduce the flow of oil and fuel that Russia uses directly in the war,” the source told CNN.

Belgorod City Hall was damaged after drone attacks on the city on Tuesday. (Credit: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)

The attacks followed a chaotic day on the Russian side of the Ukrainian border, during which groups of Ukrainian pro-Russian fighters said they had launched cross-border attacks and claimed control of the village of Tyotkino in Russia’s Kursk region.

According to the regional governor, the city remained under fire “all day” this Wednesday.

The consequences of the attack continued this Wednesday. The Freedom for Russia Legion, a group of Russian dissidents fighting for Ukraine that has previously claimed to have infiltrated into Russia, said in a series of messages on Telegram on Wednesday that its fighters had seized a command center in the city of Tiotkino in the Kursk region. Was destroyed. And they were moving forward.

CNN cannot independently verify the group’s claims. However, CNN was able to geolocate video footage released by the group, which showed a building located in Tiyotkino engulfed in smoke and flames.

“There was a control center and now there is no control center,” the group said. “We are bringing a crisis closer to the regime’s bloody defense industry.”

Attacks occur as Russian elections approach

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday its air defenses destroyed 58 Ukrainian drones overnight, some of which had flown to the Leningrad region bordering Finland, supporting Kiev’s claims.

The Belgorod border region has borne the brunt of cross-border attacks from Ukraine during the war. (Credit: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)

Ryazan regional governor Pavel Malkov said a fire broke out at the facility but was extinguished. He told that two people have been injured.

A video circulated on social media from the refinery complex, one of Russia’s largest, showed a large column of smoke rising from a distant building.

A day earlier, Russian authorities reported at least 25 drone strikes, and local authorities in the Oryol and Nizhny Novgorod regions reported attacks on fuel and energy facilities.

No casualties were reported in Tuesday’s or Wednesday’s attacks.

However, according to Russian officials, an apparent cross-border infiltration occurred on Tuesday with attacks in the village of Odnorobovka in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and the nearby Russian villages of Nekhotivka and Spodaryushino in Belgorod.

Viacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, said 10 civilians were injured in the region on Tuesday and six were hospitalized.

In the neighboring Kursk region, pro-Ukraine groups said the Russian town of Teotkino remained under fire “all day” this Wednesday, according to the region’s governor, Roman Starovoit.

He said a building and a store were damaged.

Starovoit said, “As soon as it is safe to do so, door-to-door searches will be conducted in the village. Of course, we will help all owners of damaged property to restore them.”

In addition to targeting Russia’s deep oil reserves, Kiev’s recent attacks may be partly aimed at influencing the war’s impact on Russians as the country prepares for presidential elections.

The vote is almost certain to give Putin a fifth term, extending his rule until 2030. The vote will take place over three days starting on Friday, and the president is headed into a new era in power in an election that is not considered free or independent. Do not face fair and genuine competition.

During a lengthy interview on state TV channel Rossiya 1 on Wednesday, Putin said the Ukrainian attacks in Belgorod and Kursk come amid Kiev’s “failures” on the battlefield.

“All this is happening against the background of failures on the contact line, on the front line. They did not achieve any of the goals they set for themselves last year,” Putin said. “Against the background of such failures, they have to show at least something and, mainly, pay attention to the informational aspect of the matter.”

—CNN’s Christian Edwards, Alex Stambaugh, Maria Kostenko and Radina Gigova contributed reporting.