The Ukrainian military purportedly launched a massive drone attack on an oil pipeline in occupied Crimea during the same 24-hour period when Kyiv claimed to have eliminated over 1,000 Russian troops from the battlefield.
Several Russian media reports said that at least 38 Ukrainian drones attacked oil targets near the occupied port town Feodosia on Sunday, according to The Kyiv Post. While the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have successfully shot down all of the drones, an oil pipeline, a road and several houses and cars were reportedly damaged.
The Telegram channel of independent Russian journalism project ASTRA reported that workers at an oil depot in Feodosia were evacuated after the strikes, which caused at least two injuries in the area. Emergency workers reportedly spent approximately 90 minutes extinguishing a fire at the depot, which was also targeted in Ukrainian attacks last November and December.
Shortly after the drone strikes were said to have occurred, Russia’s 11-mile Kerch Bridge—which provides a vital supply link between Crimea and Russia’s Krasnodar region—was temporarily closed. It was unclear whether the bridge, which has previously been hit by Ukraine on multiple occasions, was targeted in a new attack. It is located about 60 miles away from Feodosia.
ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP
Newsweek reached out for comment to the Ukrainian military via email on Monday.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a post to Facebook on Monday that 1,150 Russian troops had suffered casualties over the past 24 hours, including deaths and service-ending injuries.
Ukraine claimed to have caused a total of 417,950 Russian casualties since the invasion began on February 24, 2022. Kyiv also said that it destroyed at least 6,648 Russian tanks and 10,210 artillery systems since the beginning of the war, including 8 and 22 over the past 24 hours, respectively.
Newsweek is unable to independently verify any of Ukraine’s war figures and it is unknown how many of the causalities reported on Monday, if any, happened in Crimea.
A significant number of Russian casualties may have occurred near the captured Donetsk city of Avdiivka, where Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade on Monday claimed on Monday to have used drones to wipe out an entire Russian infantry column.
An additional Ukrainian “kamikaze” drone attack reportedly took place deep inside Russian territory on Sunday. ASTRA reported that the strike on the “Petersburg Oil Terminal” in Saint Petersburg caused no injuries, with the drone failing to explode. The facility was previously targeted by Ukrainian drones on January 18.
An alleged Friday attack by Ukrainian missiles on Russia’s Gvardeyskoye air base in Crimea was reportedly more successful, damaging part of the airfield and injuring at least three Russian military personnel.
The base is purportedly home to one squadron of 12 Sukhoi Su-24 bomber jets and one squadron of 12 Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft, which are used to provide air support for Russian ground forces.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.