An industrial installation caught fire in Novi Urengoi, a city in northern Russia where gas is produced, following a drone attack, declared regional governor Dmitri Artiuhov on Wednesday. This is the first attack of this kind on this natural gas production area in the country. Artiuhov did not specify which installation was targeted, according to Reuters.
“The most important thing is that there were no victims or injuries. The extent and nature of the damage are being assessed,” Artiuhov wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian special forces have announced that they have carried out attacks on two gas installations in the region – in Novi Urengoi and in the Purovsky district. President Volodimir Zelenski praised the attacks for their impact on the Russian economy. The energy company Gazprom declined to comment, writes News.
The Ukrainian statement did not provide details on the damage caused to the facilities, but described the two plants as “crucial for the gas condensate industry“.
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“Previously, this area was considered absolutely safe for the aggressor, being located far from the front line,” it is mentioned in the statement.
Zelenski stated that it is “important to respond to the Russian war in a completely fair manner, and in such a way that the enemy feels it“.
Novi Urengoy is the unofficial gas capital of Russia, located in the Yamal-Nenets region, in the north of Western Siberia. Gazprom used to export gas from Yamal to Western Europe, until relations broke down following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The company estimated the region’s gas resources at 26.5 trillion cubic meters in 2020, enough to cover global demand for over six years.
Russia’s Retort
Nine people died on Thursday in Ukraine following a Russian attack launched after Ukraine’s deepest strike of this war. Four people died as a result of Russian air strikes on the Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv, which took place overnight. The attack hit both civil and industrial infrastructure, and another 19 people were injured, regional governor Heorhii Reshetilov announced on Telegram.
Details, HERE