On Monday night, unidentified drones attacked the important Kalejkino pumping station in the Republic of Tatarstan, sparking a fire and highlighting the vulnerability of Russia’s oil pipeline system. Local authorities confirmed the attack and despite a minor fire, no casualties were reported.
Unidentified drones attacked the Kalejkino pumping station, which is a key hub for the operation of the Druzhba pipeline, in the Republic of Tatarstan on Monday night.
The bloggers’ messages published on the Telegram platform were quoted by the Russian media, from where they were also taken over by the daily Ukrainska pravda, writes TASR.
Fire at the station
Videos circulating on the Internet show a massive fire at the site of the station. Local authorities confirmed the attack on the industrial complex on Monday morning. According to them, it is a “small fire” caused by debris falling from the drone. According to the administration, no casualties were reported.
The emergency services are said to be handling the situation.
The meaning of Kalejkino station
Ukrainska pravda added that the Kalejkino station is the largest of its kind and is one of the main logistical hubs of the Russian energy system. Oil from various regions, including western Siberia and the Volga region, is mixed there. This station is the beginning of a chain that supplies raw materials to European markets: it maintains the pressure and continuous flow of oil to the Druzhba pipeline and also supplies refineries in Tatarstan.
Damage to this station could directly affect the Russian economy: revenues from oil and gas make up about a third of Russia’s federal budget, which also finances the war against Ukraine.
The recent attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline facility in the city of Brody in the Lviv region in western Ukraine resulted in significant damage to technological and auxiliary facilities and the cessation of oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accuse Kyiv of political “blackmail” in connection with the stoppage of supplies. On Wednesday, February 18, the Slovak government declared a state of oil emergency and threatened retaliatory measures if oil transit is not resumed.
Russian drone shooting
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Monday morning that 152 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight, including three over the Republic of Tatarstan, which lies in the European part of the Russian Federation.
