Ukraine said its latest overnight strikes hit a major Russian natural gas processing complex, two military satellite communications centers and targets in Crimea as Kyiv expands attacks on energy, defense and logistics sites deep inside Russian-controlled territory.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Ukraine said Wednesday that its forces carried out a new wave of long-range strikes against targets inside Russia and Crimea, hitting a major natural gas processing plant, two satellite communications facilities used by the Russian military and several targets on the Russian-held peninsula.
Ukraine’s General Staff said the overnight operation struck the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, part of a large energy complex that also includes Russia’s only helium plant. The facility is located more than 1,200 kilometers, or about 750 miles, from the front line running through eastern and southern Ukraine.
The General Staff said the strike caused a fire at the complex. The report could not be independently verified, and Russian officials did not immediately comment.
The Ukrainian military did not say whether drones or missiles were used in the attack. Ukraine has increasingly relied on long-range aerial strikes as it develops larger and more capable weapons for attacks far beyond the battlefield. Drones have recently been used in strikes on Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The Orenburg complex is one of the world’s largest gas facilities, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. Ukrainian officials said the plant produces helium, which is used in liquid-fuel rocket engines and guidance systems, as well as ethane, a component used in the production of solid rocket fuel, gunpowder and other materials.
Ukraine said the attack was part of a broader campaign against Russian energy infrastructure and military industry as Russia’s full-scale invasion enters its fifth year.
The General Staff also reported strikes on two satellite communications centers used by Russian forces. One target was the Dubna Space Communications Center near Moscow, which Ukraine described as Russia’s largest ground-based satellite communications complex. The second was a satellite communications site in the Vladimir region, east of the Russian capital.
Ukraine has also intensified attacks on Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia controls and uses as a military and logistics hub. Ukrainian drone strikes overnight knocked out power in Sevastopol, according to Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of the city.
Western analysts have said Kyiv is trying to disrupt Russian military supply lines in Crimea and damage the peninsula’s power grid during the height of the summer tourist season, an effort intended to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and weaken Russia’s hold on the region.
Crimea remains strategically important because of its Black Sea naval bases and its role as a supply route for Russian forces operating inside Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Security Service said Wednesday that it struck two military airfields in Crimea and destroyed missile systems on the peninsula.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 323 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 101 long-range attack drones overnight against Ukrainian targets.
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