Ukrainian forces struck a major natural gas processing plant and two key satellite communications centers in their latest nighttime attacks on Russia, Ukraine’s General Staff said Wednesday. The operation was part of an intensifying aerial campaign targeting energy facilities and military industries as Kyiv develops bigger and better long-range weapons to counter Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its fifth year. In response, Moscow has ordered the redeployment of some air defense systems from various regions to the capital and to the Kerch Bridge in Crimea, a crucial supply link for Russian troops, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy stated on X that it is important for the Russian public to understand that their leadership’s rejection of diplomacy is prolonging the war.
The overnight assault hit the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, situated in the southern Urals near the Kazakhstan border, which is more than 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) behind the front line. The plant, which is one of the world’s largest gas complexes, houses the only helium plant in Russia. It produces helium, used for liquid-fuel rocket engines and guidance systems, as well as ethane, a key component for solid rocket fuel and gunpowder. The attack reportedly set the complex on fire. Additionally, Ukraine struck two satellite communication centers used by the Russian military, including the Dubna Space Communications Center near Moscow—described as Russia’s largest ground-based satellite complex—and another facility in the Vladimir region.
Ukraine is also focusing on Crimea to disrupt logistics, with drone strikes causing power outages in Sevastopol, according to the city’s Moscow-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev. Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, contains naval bases and vital supply lines. Recently, Ukraine destroyed more than 60,000 tons of Russian ammunition near St. Petersburg, Zelenskyy reported. The Security Service of Ukraine added that they struck two military airfields and destroyed missile systems on the peninsula. Meanwhile, military officials in northern Ukraine ordered mandatory evacuations for settlements in the Chernihiv region bordering Belarus starting July 1, following concerns that Moscow is attempting to draw Belarus deeper into the conflict.
Casualties continue to mount on both sides. Two staff members of Norwegian People’s Aid were killed in a Russian attack, the demining organization reported, though local officials recorded one death, with four others injured. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 323 Ukrainian drones overnight. Conversely, two people were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, and another person was killed in the Belgorod border region. Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 101 long-range attack drones overnight. Russian drone strikes on the city of Balakliia killed a 56-year-old woman, while a 57-year-old streetcar driver died in the Sumy region following a guided aerial bomb attack. Additionally, the death toll from Tuesday’s ballistic missile strike on Kryvyi Rih rose to four after a 62-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries.
