A UKRAINIAN drone swarm has hammered Siberian gas plants around 2,000 miles from the border, marking its deepest strike within Russia.
The attack surpassed it’s previous successful strike on the Omsk oil refinery in July, which is roughly 1,550 miles from the border.
It comes amid a spate of devastating attacks on Russia’s fuel reserves that has plunged the country into an economic crisis.
Kyiv’s drones targeted the city of Novy Urengoy, in the Yamalo-Nenets region, which is viewed as Russia’s unofficial gas capital.
The region accounts for a whopping 80 per cent of the country’s gas production, according to Russian outlet Agentstvo.
Ukraine’s intended target was Novy Urengoy’s condensate treatment plant, which can hold 19.5 million tonnes of raw material a year.
Volodymyr Zelensky praised the attacks for their impact on the Russian economy.
Ukrainian special forces wrote on Telegram: “Until today, this area was considered completely safe territory for the aggressor.”
Dmitry Artyukhov, the Yamalo-Nenets governor, said: “There are no fatalities or injuries.
“The extent and nature of the damage are being assessed.“
Ukraine gave no details about the damage inflicted on the two plants, but described them as “crucial for the gas condensate industry”.
Several social media videos showed fire and smoke billowing from one of the blast sites.
Zelensky said it was “important to respond in an entirely fair manner to the Russian war and in just such a way that the enemy feels it”.
Russian state energy provider Gazprom used to export gas from the region to Western Europe until Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The area had an estimated 26.5 trillion cubic metres of gas resources as of 2020, enough to cover global demand for more than six years.
On Wednesday, drone threats were also activated in Khanty-Mansiysk in west-central Siberia, located around 1,550 miles from the border.
