Ukraine’s military struck the Druzhba oil pipeline inside Russia this week, military intelligence sources in Kyiv told media outlets on Wednesday, marking at least the fifth attack on the key supply route this year.
The attack targeted the Taganrog-Lipetsk section in Russia’s central Tambov region using a remote-controlled explosive device, according to sources with Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) who spoke to Reuters and The Kyiv Independent.
Slovakia and Hungary continue to rely on Druzhba’s southern branch under temporary EU sanctions exemptions granted after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Despite the attack, Slovak pipeline operator and Hungarian energy company MOL reported that oil supplies were flowing normally on Wednesday. Russian officials have not publicly commented on the reported blast.
Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian energy infrastructure since the summer to undercut Moscow’s oil revenues, a key source of funding for its war effort. November alone saw a record of at least 14 drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, according to Bloomberg.
A HUR source told the Kyiv Independent that the attacks were part of Ukraine’s retaliation against ongoing Russian strikes on its energy grid.
“The Russian oil network, as the main source of income for the aggressor state and financing for the military-industrial complex, will continue to explode and burn until the enemy stops trying to attack Ukraine,” the source was quoted as saying.
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