KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces hit an oil terminal, a pipeline, two parked fighter jets and two ships in a series of attacks on Russian territory, officials said Monday.
The attacks are part of an ongoing campaign to undermine Russia’s war effort and spread fear on the front lines. After nearly four years of war, Ukraine’s army is outnumbered and struggling to hold off Russia’s larger military.
The attacks also seek to derail talks in which Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to portray Russia as in a position of military strength in U.S.-led peace efforts that have yet to achieve a breakthrough on key issues.
A top Russian general was killed by a car bomb in Moscow on Monday, with investigators suspecting Ukraine was behind it, in what could be another example of Kiev choosing unexpected targets.
Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement on Monday that Ukrainian forces attacked the Tamanift Gazi oil terminal, ammunition depots and attack drone launch sites on Russian territory and in Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory.
A pipeline, two docks and two ships were damaged and fires broke out in the southern Krasnodar region, the statement said, without specifying what weapons were used in the attack.
The statement added that a Ukrainian-made missile also hit the makeshift base of Russia’s 92nd Riverboat Brigade in Olenivka on the occupied Crimean peninsula.
Another attack targeted an ammunition depot in the Russian-controlled part of the Donetsk region and was aimed at slowing Russian advances there, the General Staff said. The launch site for Russian attack drones was also attacked.
Ukrainian guerrillas fired at two Russian jet fighters during an operation Sunday night at a base near the western Russian city of Lipetsk, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency.
The Russian Defense Ministry only stated that Russian troops shot down 41 Ukrainian drones at night, three of which were shot down over the Krasnodar region.
Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to target Ukraine’s energy sector, aiming to deprive civilians of heating and running water during the cold winter months. Russia sought to destroy power in Ukraine throughout the war, a strategy Ukraine called a “weaponized winter.”
Ukraine’s energy ministry said energy infrastructure in five regions was attacked overnight.
The Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia attacked Ukraine with 86 drones of different types overnight. Ukrainian forces allegedly intercepted 58 of them.
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