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Assaults on Russia seen as prelude to Ukraine counteroffensive

Strikes on Russian infrastructure together with drone assaults on refineries and practice sabotage have multiplied in current weeks, with consultants suggesting they’re a part of Ukraine’s preparations for an anticipated spring offensive.

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Agence France-Presse studies that Kyiv has not claimed any of the acts denounced by Moscow as Ukrainian “sabotage” of “unprecedented momentum”, however the majority seem to focus on Russian military provide chains in border areas and in annexed Crimea, a base for Russian troops.

Mykhailo Samus, deputy director of the Centre for Military, Conversion and Disarmament Research in Kyiv, stated:

All of this was executed to arrange for an offensive. I’m positive that the depth [of the attacks] will enhance.

A senior Ukrainian official, talking anonymously, stated that “these are normal measures for limiting the capabilities of the Russian armed forces”.

Smoke from a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region on Thursday
Smoke from a fireplace at an oil refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar area on Thursday. {Photograph}: Krasnodar area governor’s press service/EPA

Oil amenities – important for supplying the troops – seem like the precedence targets of the assaults, which have been typically carried out with drones.

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The checklist of incidents has expanded on a close to every day foundation. On Thursday, a drone was shot down close to an airbase in Sevastopol within the Crimea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. That very same day, Russia’s southern Krasnodar and Rostov areas, each close to Ukraine, reported drone strikes that precipitated fires. On Friday, one other hearth broke out on the identical oil refinery in Krasnodar.

Over the previous week, two gasoline depots additionally caught hearth, in and round Crimea, whereas final weekend an in a single day Ukrainian strike on the Russian border village of Suzemka left 4 useless.

Additionally in Russia’s Bryansk area bordering Ukraine, two freight trains derailed earlier this week after explosive gadgets went off on the tracks.

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