Ukraine and Russia had agreed, under U.S. mediation, to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure. However, on Saturday (April 5), Russia’s Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of not only failing to uphold the agreement but also intensifying its attacks. Ukraine has dismissed the allegations as false and labeled them as propaganda, according to a report by British news agency Reuters.
In a statement posted on the social media platform Telegram, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine unilaterally launched drone and artillery attacks on Russian energy facilities. It stated that at least 14 such attacks occurred within the past 24 hours.
The statement further mentioned that the attacks by Kyiv caused significant damage in Russia’s Bryansk, Belgorod, Smolensk, Lipetsk, and Voronezh regions, as well as in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, including Luhansk and Kherson.
Meanwhile, in a counter-statement also published on Telegram, the Ukrainian military accused Russia of spreading false information. Ukraine admitted to launching attacks but claimed they were strictly limited to military targets.
As of the time of writing this report, Reuters was unable to independently verify Russia’s claims.
Last month, following a U.S.-proposed initiative, Moscow and Kyiv agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days. The Ukrainian military previously claimed that it had suspended attacks on Russian energy infrastructure since March 18.
However, both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the terms of the agreement.
Additionally, in a separate statement on Saturday, Russian regional authorities accused Ukraine of conducting drone attacks on industrial infrastructure.
The governor of the Volga River region in Mordovia alleged that Ukraine targeted an optical fiber factory in the regional capital, Saransk. Local media reported that the facility was part of the area’s industrial infrastructure.
A similar attack reportedly occurred in Chapayevsk, a town in the Samara region along the Volga River, where another factory was struck.
Ukraine has not denied the attacks but refused to acknowledge the targets as merely industrial factories. An official from Ukraine’s intelligence agency, the SBU, claimed the factory in question was involved in producing explosives. According to the official, multiple explosions were triggered by chemicals stored inside the facility during the destruction.
