Russian Energy Sites Burn as Kyiv and Moscow Trade Accusations of Blame

Russia-Ukraine War

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Russia and Ukraine are preparing to discuss a potential cease-fire on power infrastructure, and each is seeking to portray the other side as untrustworthy ahead of talks.

By Constant Méheut

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

As Kyiv and Moscow prepare for talks that would put in place a temporary halt on strikes on energy infrastructure, each side has continued to accuse the other of fresh attacks on the power grid, underscoring the deep mistrust between them.

Overnight into Friday, part of a major Russian gas station near the Ukrainian border was set ablaze in an attack that Ukraine and Russia blamed on each other. Unverified videos shared by Russian military bloggers showed a large fire at the station, which once pumped gas to Europe through Ukraine, with what appeared to be pipelines engulfed in flames.

Also on Friday, Russian authorities in the southwestern Krasnodar region reported a secondary explosion at a fuel depot that had been burning for two days after a Ukrainian drone attack. Russian officials said the fire had spread to more than 100,000 square feet.

Kyiv and Moscow agreed this week to a limited 30-day cease-fire on strikes against energy infrastructure — the first major step toward de-escalation in more than three years of war.

But the details of how and when this partial truce would take hold remain unresolved and are expected to be hammered out in U.S.-mediated talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian national railway said its power system had been attacked. The same day, Russia said Ukrainian drones attacked the fuel depot in the Krasnodar region. Neither of the claims could be independently verified.

Both sides have an interest in blaming the other for violating the cease-fire before it even begins, seeking to portray their opponent as untrustworthy. Against that backdrop, Friday’s attack on the Russian gas station fit neatly into this propaganda war.

The gas station sits just across the border from Ukraine, near the town of Sudzha, in territory that Ukrainian forces seized during their incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region last summer. But recent Russian advances have pushed back Ukrainian troops in the area from all but a sliver of land, and it was unclear whether they still controlled the station as of Friday.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s main federal investigative body, announced on Friday that it had opened a criminal investigation of the event. It said Ukrainian troops had “carried out a deliberate explosion of the Sudzha gas distribution station” causing “significant damage.”

The Ukrainian Army, though, suggested the explosion was a Russian “false flag” operation designed to put the blame on Ukraine. It said Russia had “repeatedly shelled” the station in the past as it counterattacked Ukrainian troops in the area.

“Russians continue to create numerous fakes and seek to mislead the international community,” the army said in a Facebook post.

Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting.

Constant Méheut reports on the war in Ukraine, including battlefield developments, attacks on civilian centers and how the war is affecting its people. More about Constant Méheut

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