Ukraine says it has struck a critical hub in Russia’s vast crude-export pipeline network, a move that, according to Bloomberg, has not yet disrupted oil flows to Europe.
Kyiv’s General Staff reported on Facebook that an oil-pumping station in Unecha, in Russia’s Bryansk region near the borders with Ukraine and Belarus, was hit, sparking a large fire. Explosions were allegedly heard in storage areas and around the main pumping units.
Bloomberg noted that the claims could not be independently verified, and Russian pipeline operator Transneft PJSC did not respond to requests for comment.
The incident adds to a surge in Ukrainian drone strikes this month on Russia’s energy infrastructure, coming days before a scheduled meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Earlier, Kyiv said it had targeted four Russian refineries (three of them owned by Rosneft PJSC) along with a major helium plant.
Unecha plays a key role in the Druzhba pipeline, which delivers Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia and channels Kazakh oil to Germany. It also links to the Baltic Pipeline System-2, carrying Russian oil to the port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea.
Hungarian refiner Mol Nyrt. told Bloomberg that deliveries remain on track, though Hungary’s foreign minister Peter Szijjarto condemned the strike. Slovakia’s Transpetrol reported no change in its shipment schedule, and Kazakhstan’s energy ministry said its oil exports via Transneft are proceeding without restriction.
Bryansk’s governor Alexander Bogomaz said Ukrainian rockets and drones caused a blaze at a fuel facility in Unecha, but claimed the fire was extinguished without detailing the extent of the damage.
Picture: REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
