Russia on Thursday accused neighboring Ukraine of “continuing” to breach a US-mediated 30-day pause on strikes against energy facilities in both countries.
Following consultations held in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, the US announced separate agreements Tuesday with Russia and Ukraine to “ensure safe navigation” in the Black Sea and a halt to strikes on each other’s energy facilities for 30 days.
Moscow and Kyiv later confirmed the agreements, although the Kremlin said they would take effect as soon as certain restrictions and sanctions on Russia are lifted.
“Despite the Kyiv regime’s statements about the alleged cessation of strikes on Russian energy facilities, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continued to strike energy infrastructure over the past 24 hours,” said a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry.
The statement claimed that the most recent of these violations occurred Thursday morning at 7 a.m. local time (0400GMT), when artillery shelling in the border region of Bryansk disabled a transformer substation.
It said that a 10 kV high-voltage line in the Bryansk region was also disconnected following an attack Wednesday at around 5 p.m. (1400GMT).
Around the same time, Kyiv also targeted an underground gas storage facility in the Crimean Peninsula, the statement also claimed. The drone targeting the facility was downed by air defenses, it added.
A day earlier, the ministry alleged similar violations by Kyiv in the Bryansk and Kursk regions, as well as Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. Ukraine’s General Staff later denied the claims.
However, Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on Russia’s recent claims.