Ukraine has launched drone strikes on Russia's Kushchevsk military airfield in the southern Krasnodar region as well as two oil refineries, a source with knowledge of the operation told Reuters. CNN .
The source called the operation “explosive” and said that fires broke out in all three locations.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) “continues to effectively attack military and infrastructure facilities” in Russia, the source said, in an attempt to reduce Moscow’s “war potential”.
Krasnodar Region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev had previously said that a Russian oil refinery was affected after Kiev launched drones in the early hours of Saturday morning (27).
Russian state media outlet TASS reported that the oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban has partially suspended operations, citing Eduard Trudnev, director of security at Slavyansk ECO Group, which manages the facility.
Trudnev said work at the plant was “partially suspended” after 10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) hit the refinery, causing a fire to break out. “The presence of hidden damage is possible,” Trudnev said.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Kiev launched 66 drones to attack the Krasnodar region, but all were intercepted.
Kondratyev said there were no casualties due to the fire at the Slavyansk refinery.
Missile attack
In Ukraine, four thermal power plants were “severely damaged” after Russian attacks overnight, according to a statement from DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company.
The DTEK statement added that “at this time, power engineers are trying to eliminate the consequences of the attack.”
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko posted on Facebook that “facilities in the Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv regions were attacked.”
An energy engineer at one of the facilities suffered a concussion, Halushchenko said.
Serhii Lysak, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said in a Telegram update that the region had suffered a “massive attack.”
Although air defenses intercepted 13 missiles in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Pavlohrad districts, energy facilities were damaged in Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih districts, causing fires and injuring a 39-year-old man.
Lysak also said there were “interruptions in water supply in the Kryvyi Rih district.”
Svitlana Onyshchuk, head of the Ivano-Frankivsk regional military administration, said on Telegram on Saturday that a “critical infrastructure facility” in the Carpathian region was hit, causing a fire that has since been put out.
DTEK said its thermal power plants have been attacked more than 170 times since the start of the war.
Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, said Saturday that Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with “34 missiles launched from air, land and sea,” with 21 of those missiles intercepted.
Commenting on the missile barrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “we managed to intercept a portion of them” but emphasized that “the world has all the resources to help us intercept all missiles and drones.”
In a post on ”.
Ukraine has repeatedly stated that it urgently needs vital munitions, including air defense and artillery ammunition.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law an aid package that provides crucial military assistance to Ukraine, ending months of negotiations and debate. Approved by the Senate on Tuesday (23), the package includes almost US$61 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Evacuated hospitals
On Friday (26), patients from two Kiev hospitals were evacuated after Belarus claimed soldiers were sheltering inside, raising fears in Ukraine of a possible attack on the facilities.
A video appeared online showing the head of the Belarusian KGB security service claiming that the two medical facilities housed soldiers.
The head of the Belarusian KGB, Ivan Tertel, stated during a speech on Thursday (25) that Ukrainian fighters were “hiding behind children's backs” and provided the addresses of two hospitals located northeast of Kiev. One of them is a children's hospital.
“The enemy practically announced its attack” and “even indicated the addresses,” Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in response, calling it “a provocation used as a pretext for an attack on our critical social infrastructure.” .
Fears of a potential attack prompted authorities to urgently begin transferring patients to other medical facilities in the Ukrainian capital.
“This is an absolute lie and a provocation by the enemy” that aims to justify attacks on the capital's social infrastructure, the Kiev city administration said in a statement.
Videos shared online showed medical teams rushing to transport patients and equipment to ambulances waiting to receive them.
By Friday evening, all patients had been successfully transferred to other medical facilities, Klitschko said, thanking doctors, technical staff and ambulance workers for their “quick and well-coordinated work.”
The SBU also denounced the allegation that the soldiers were based in the hospitals, calling it “a manifestation of information and psychological special operations that play into Russia’s hands.”
Ukrainian authorities have not yet said whether the urgent transfer resulted in complications for any of the patients.
*With input from CNN's Radina Gigova, Yulia Kesaieva, Victoria Butenko and Jessie Gretener
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
