The Russian company Transneft accused the Ukrainian military of ambushing a pumping station in the western province near the Ukrainian border, part of the Druzhba pipeline that carries oil to Europe.
“An attempt was made last night to destroy the Novozybkov intermediate pumping station,” said Igor Dyomin, a spokesman for Russia’s Transneft pipeline operator, on February 1. “There are no casualties in the attack, the repair team is trying to repair any damage. The Druzhba oil pipeline is operating normally.”
Spokesman Dyomin said the Novozybkov intermediate pumping station operates only during peak times on the Druzhba oil pipeline. The last time Novozybkov station operated was at the end of 2022 for a few hours. This pumping station is located near the village of Mamai in Bryansk province and about 39 km from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
A section of the Druzhba oil pipeline in Almetevsky district, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, September 2009. Photo: RIA Novosti.
Earlier, Russian media reported that the Ukrainian armed forces used Tochka-U ballistic missiles to attack the Novozybkov pumping station, causing the facility to lose power. Workers discovered a hole with a diameter of 20 m in the Novozybkov pumping station.
Bryansk Governor Aleksander Bogomaz accused Ukrainian forces on February 1 of shelling civilian targets in the province. Bogomaz said there were no casualties, but the shelling damaged more than a dozen apartment buildings, a memorial to the Great Patriotic War and a shop, as well as power outages in several villages.
Ukraine has not commented on the Russian information.
Druzhba (Friendship) is one of the longest oil pipelines in the world, transporting goods over a distance of about 4,000 km. The pipeline has branches to the Baltic countries, branches to Poland and Germany and branches to Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic.
The Druzhba pipeline was started in the 1960s to transport crude oil from the Soviet Union to Finland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and Hungary. Countries participating in construction contribute materials, machinery and equipment. The entire Druzhba line was put into operation in 1964.
The location of the Novozybkov pumping station (marked in red). Graphics: Google.
Nguyen Tien (Theo TASS, RT)