Ukrainian strike on US-linked energy infrastructure is Zelensky's ‘demarche'
A Ukrainian drone strike on a major oil pumping station in southern Russia could be a sign of Kiev's frustration over waning US support, Russian MP Dmitry Belik told RT on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported an attack on the Kropotkinskaya pumping station, operated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). In 2024, US companies controlled some 40% of oil supplies shipped via the pipeline project.
The attack was 'hardly a coincidence,' Belik said, adding that it could be a 'demarche' by Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, who is supposedly 'gradually losing' Washington's backing. The Ukrainian leader 'could be venting his frustration… in such a way,' said the lawmaker, who is a member of the Russian State Duma's International Affairs Committee.
According to Russian Senator Andrey Klimov, some of Kiev's Western backers could be behind the strike as well. Some 'forces' within the US and the UK are willing to undertake 'any provocations' to 'get under the skin' of US President Donald Trump or make him change his current political course, claimed Klimov, who is the deputy head of Russian Federation Council's International Affairs committee.
The strike could also be due to the Ukrainian military not studying the target properly, said Igor Yushkov, a senior analyst with the National Energy Security Fund – a private Russian think tank. 'The military that choose targets… are people that have no clue about what those pipelines are,' he told RT. Kiev may have just considered the station a 'convenient target,' he added.
According to the Russian media, the Kropotkinskaya pumping station is located in the Russian Krasnodar Region, some 230 kilometers away from the port city of Novorossiysk, and is far away from any other Russian energy facilities.
Following Monday's strike, the station was taken out of service, the CPC said. No injuries have been reported by either the operator or the Russian Defense Ministry. All of the company's shareholders, including US and European, were informed about the 'terrorist drone attack on a civilian target and its outcome,' the company stated.
CPC is one of the largest international oil transportation projects in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with the participation of Russia, Kazakhstan, and a consortium of leading oil companies, including US giant Chevron.
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