Ukraine again violated energy strike ceasefire – Russia
Ukraine has again violated the moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure by launching two attacks on the power grid in Russia’s border Bryansk Region, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days following a phone call with his US counterpart Donald Trump earlier this month, an agreement later confirmed by Kiev.
Moscow, however, accused Ukraine of violating the ceasefire almost immediately, with several similar breaches occurring in the following days.
In a statement on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry signaled that Kiev did not change its approach to the moratorium. “Over the past 24 hours, despite the Kiev regime’s statements about not striking energy facilities, the Ukrainian armed forces continued to attack Russia’s energy infrastructure.”
One attack, which took place on Sunday evening, targeted a facility in Bryansk Region and involved an artillery shelling of a branch of energy company Rosseti Centre – Bryanskenergo, the ministry said. “Due to a break in the wire on the support, the high-voltage line was disconnected, and household consumers in the Suzemsky district were cut off from the energy supply.”
Less than half an hour later, a Ukrainian drone attacked an electricity substation in the same area, also leading to energy disruptions, officials added.
“The continued deliberate attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian energy facilities indicate the complete inability of the Kiev regime to abide by any of its obligations regarding the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine,” the ministry stressed.
While Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of violating the moratorium on energy strikes, it has signaled that it intends to uphold its end of the bargain because the deal serves as a sign of progress in improving US-Russian bilateral relations. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has warned, however, that Moscow may retaliate symmetrically for Kiev’s violations.
