Illustrative Image
Overnight, Ukrainian drones struck deep into Russian territory, likely hitting the Nikolskoe station in Tambov region. This is the latest in a wave of attacks crippling Russia’s energy infrastructure. The assault, some 340 km from Ukraine’s border, confirms the ongoing Kyiv’s effort to undermine Russia’s oil exports, a critical pillar of its war economy. The Nikolskoe facility is one of the hubs along the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies crude oil to Europe. This follows an August 13 attack on the Unecha pumping station in Bryansk Oblast—another critical node in the same pipeline—which temporarily halted oil deliveries to Hungary and drew sharp condemnation from Budapest.
As Ukraine intensifies its drone offensive, having targeted about a dozen refineries and sparking fuel shortages across Russia, Moscow’s unusually restrained response suggests a strategic gamble. Moscow is absorbing the blows to keep diplomatic channels open, even as its energy sector suffers.
According to the fire monitoring sources, on the night of August 18th, Ukrainian drones struck the Nikolskoe station in Russia’s Tambov region, located 340 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The facility is linked to the Druzhba pipeline. This is a linear production and dispatch station, a management body, that coordinates the operation of several oil depots at once.
Click to see full-size image
At the same time, Budapest has sharply condemned Ukrainian strikes on infrastructure of the Druzhba pipeline, with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó calling the latest attack an “unacceptable assault” on his country’s energy security. “This is yet another outrageous attempt to undermine Hungary’s stability,” Szijjártó stated, adding that the suspension of Russian oil flows through Druzhba forced Hungary to seek alternative supplies.
The minister accused Kyiv and Brussels of deliberately targeting energy links to Hungary in an effort to drag the country into the conflict. “This is not our war,” Szijjártó emphasized, while reminding Ukraine that Hungarian electricity remains crucial for Ukrainian consumers. The diplomatic spat comes as Budapest explores alternative energy routes, including a potential oil pipeline to Serbia in cooperation with Russia.
Hungarian officials did not clarify what was the target of Ukrainian UAVs, but open sources allow to identify that the attack in question was fire at the the Nikolskoe station. Last week, the Hungarian Foreign Minister also criticized the actions of the Ukrainian military, saying that they had attacked an object on the Druzhba oil pipeline in the Bryansk region. On August 13, an oil depot in Unech, which is part of the Druzhba oil pipeline, was hit. As a result, oil supplies via the pipeline to Hungary were stopped.
Since early August, Ukraine has intensified drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, targeting about a dozen facilities and disrupting operations of at least three large oil refineries. The targets included:
- Kstovo (Nizhny Novgorod): Attacked on August 17.
- Syzran (Rosneft): Hit on August 15.
- Oil depot in Unech (Druzhba pipeline): attacked on August 13.
- Volgograd Refinery (Lukoil): One of Russia’s top 10 refineries, forced to halt operations after August 13–14 strikes.
- Saratov Refinery (Rosneft): Shut down since August 10.
- Afipsky & Slavyansk Refineries: Fires reported after August 7 and 9 strikes.
- Adler Oil Depot: Struck on August 3.
- Novokuibyshev Refinery: Shut down on August 2.
- Ryazansky Refinery (Rosneft): partly suspended operation after attack on August 2.
The disruptions have triggered some fuel shortages across Russia, with reports of rationing in Crimea, Krasnoyarsk, and Zabaykalsky Krai.
Despite the economic impact, the Kremlin has avoided large-scale retaliation, limiting its strikes to military and industrial targets in Ukraine. The sole exception has been attacks on Azerbaijani-owned energy infrastructure in Ukraine—a response to Baku’s perceived support for Kyiv. LINK
Russia’s restraint may signal an attempt to preserve diplomatic channels, particularly with the U.S., as both sides weigh potential negotiations. Yet, with Ukraine’s drone campaign intensifying, Moscow’s patience could soon reach its limit, raising the specter of a broader energy war with global repercussions.
Amid the prospects of peace, the puppet Kyiv is ordered to inflict maximum damage to Russian il export infrastructure to please Western patrons, who seek to prevent the resumption of Russian oil supplies.
it’s a good thing russian intelligence and military forces were able to locate and obliterate those sapsan ballistic missiles ; with their 500 km range and 1,000 lb warhead, imagine the damage they could have caused to russian oil infrastructure.
more like 750 km maximum range.
not anymore ehehehe.
lets go occidental european elite girls, boys and monhés, good ride to hell.
they can do whatever they want. putin rather do whatever it takes to please the jewsa
don’t worry, we are going to hang the hiper rich zionists as a good and final wonderful solution.
by the way, the lifeline is to hungary, a country (population) descending from attila. lets go hungary huns!
“moscow’s unusually restrained response suggests a strategic gamble. moscow is absorbing the blows to keep diplomatic channels open, even as its energy sector suffers.” no, that’s not a response. that’s plain stupid. plus, a dipomatic channel with chumpo is like attending the circus.