Ukraine launches drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure

(CNN) — Ukraine launched attacks on eight Russian regions with long-range drones early Saturday, targeting a fuel depot and electrical substations, according to a statement from a source in Ukrainian special services.

The nighttime attacks, which were confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry, come amid Moscow’s new effort to use cold temperatures as a weapon of war to disable Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and plunge its citizens into darkness .

“The Russian Defense Ministry complains that dozens of Ukrainian drones appeared in approximately eight regions: Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Tula, Smolensk, Ryazan, Kaluga and even the Moscow region. “At least three electrical substations and a fuel storage facility were damaged and caught fire,” the source said. He said the attacks were part of a joint operation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), defense intelligence and special operations forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The source said the target was “energy infrastructure that powers Russian military-industrial facilities” and that “some areas experienced problems with energy and water supplies after the attacks.”

A video shared on social networks showed the results of drone strikes on a fuel depot in the Russian region of Smolensk, which caught fire early Saturday.

“At approximately 2 a.m. an attempted attack by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles was carried out against a fuel and power facility in the Kardymovsky district. Air defense forces shot down the aircraft. Information about the victims is being clarified,” the governor of the Smolensk region, Vasily Anokhin, wrote on Telegram.

According to Anokhin, falling drone debris caused a fire in the fuel and lubricants tanks, and teams from Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations were responding to the fire.

In a separate post, the governor of Smolensk reported that air defense repelled another unmanned aerial vehicle attack on the regional center on Saturday morning.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting a drone in the Smolensk region and said its air defense systems had intercepted or destroyed 50 Ukrainian drones the previous day.

Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region in south-western Russia, said on Saturday that “a downed Ukrainian drone caused a fire at an energy infrastructure facility.”

“Fire and rescue units and emergency teams of PJSC Rosseti are working on site to ensure uninterrupted power supply to consumers,” Bogomaz said in a Telegram update on Saturday.

In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks inside Russian territory, targeting energy infrastructure such as oil refineries and terminals as well as airfields. Following the attacks on three refineries in mid-March, a Ukrainian defense source told CNN that Ukraine is “implementing a deliberate strategy to undermine Russian economic potential.”

A source close to the drone program said the attacks are made possible by the use of drones with longer ranges and more advanced capabilities, some of which have also begun to integrate basic forms of artificial intelligence to navigate and avoid jamming. Have given. From Ukraine to CNN.

Top military commander Oleksandr Syrsky said days ago that the news of the drone strikes comes as the situation on Ukraine’s eastern front has “significantly worsened”, backed by video evidence, interviews with analysts and CNN conducted with Ukrainian soldiers. a message.

Ukrainians were awaiting a long-awaited vote in the US House of Representatives on Saturday that could finally unlock nearly $61 billion of military aid to the country, as frontline troops withdraw from key areas and key cities. While trying to capture it they are being attacked from the air.

Of that total, approximately $23 billion will be used to replenish U.S. weapons, arsenals, and facilities, and more than $11 billion will finance current U.S. military operations in the region. Nearly $14 billion included in the bill will help Ukraine purchase advanced weapons systems and other defense equipment.