Ukrainian forces conducted overnight attacks targeting a major natural gas processing plant and two key satellite communications centers within Russia, Ukraine’s General Staff announced Wednesday. These strikes are part of an intensified aerial campaign aimed at Russian energy facilities and military industries.
The Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, located over 1,200 kilometers from the Ukrainian front lines in the southern Urals, was struck and set ablaze. This facility is significant as it houses Russia's sole helium plant and is one of the largest gas complexes globally. It produces helium, essential for rocket engines and guidance systems, and ethane, a component for solid rocket fuel and gunpowder.
Additionally, Ukrainian forces hit two satellite communication centers utilized by the Russian military. One was the Dubna Space Communications Center, described as Russia's largest ground-based satellite complex, and the other was located in the Vladimir region, east of Moscow. The General Staff did not specify whether drones or missiles were used in these assaults.
These actions come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Moscow has redeployed some air defense systems from Russian regions to the capital and Crimea's Kerch Bridge, a vital transport link for supplying Russian troops. Zelenskyy remarked that it is important for Russians to understand that their leadership's rejection of diplomacy is prolonging the war.
Ukraine has recently focused its attacks on Crimea, aiming to disrupt Russian military supply lines and impact the peninsula's power grid. The Ukrainian Security Service reported striking two military airfields and destroying missile systems in Crimea. Last week, Zelenskyy reported that Ukraine destroyed over 60,000 tons of Russian ammunition by hitting a Baltic Fleet arsenal near St. Petersburg.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 323 Ukrainian drones overnight. Regional officials reported that Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least three people in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod and Belgorod regions. Ukraine’s air force stated that Russia launched 101 long-range attack drones overnight. In Ukraine, Russian drones attacked Balakliia, killing a woman, and a Russian guided aerial bomb hit the outskirts of Sumy, killing a streetcar driver, according to regional officials.