a deadly fire at an aeronautical research institute in Tver, northwest of Moscow; the burning of a munitions factory in Perm, more than 1,100 kilometers to the east; and two other fires at oil fields in Bryansk, near Belarus: a coincidence or a sign that Ukrainians or their supporters are sabotaging inside Russia to punish Moscow for invading the neighboring country?
Since the fire at the Central Research Institute of the Aerospace Defense Forces in Tver on April 21 that killed at least 17 people, social media has been rife with every piece of news about a fire somewhere in Russia, especially in sensitive places like this one. The country is under covert attacks.
No one takes responsibility for these events, but analysts say that at least some events, particularly those in Bryansk, point to an attempt by Kiev to bring the war into the occupiers’ territory.
Mikhailo Podoliak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, described the fires as “divine intervention” in a Telegram post.
“Large fuel tanks burn periodically… for different reasons,” he wrote. “Karma is a cruel thing.”
“We don’t deny”
In a populated country like Russia, it wouldn’t be particularly surprising if a fire broke out in a remote factory or building.
But since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24, more than a dozen fires observed by people documenting the war have garnered widespread social media attention amid fears that Ukrainians are waging a joint campaign of incendiary terror.
Even fires in Russia’s far east late last month at an airbase north of Vladivostok and a coal plant in Sakhalin have raised suspicions.
And on Wednesday, a fire affected a chemical factory in Dzerzhinsk, east of Moscow.
“Russian saboteurs continue their heroic work against Putin,” said Ukrainian pilot Igor Sushko, who regularly shares photos and videos about alleged sabotage in Russia.
Another Zelensky adviser, Oleksiy Arestovich, was similarly vague in his statements to the New York Times: He cited an example of such action, which Israel never admitted to its attacks and secret killings. “We don’t confirm and we don’t deny it,” he said.
Strategy?
Analysts believe the Bryansk fires, which damaged oil-carrying facilities to Europe, were deliberate and conflict-related.
The anonymous authors behind “Ukrainian Weapons Trace”, a Twitter account that posts detailed accounts backed by footage of attacks on both sides, said they had “credible” information that the Bryansk shootings were the result of drone action.
“If true, it demonstrates the ability of Ukrainian forces to launch attacks on Russian soil using long-range sources,” they wrote.
“I think it’s probably a Ukrainian attack, but we can’t be sure,” Rob Lee, another wartime analyst, told The Guardian.
In addition to these fires, there are numerous apparent bombings by helicopters and drones in Kursk and Belgorod Oblast, on the near-war border with Ukraine, and blatant acts of infrastructure sabotage.
The governors of Belgorod and Kursk blamed Ukraine’s saboteurs and aggressors for the fires and destruction of infrastructure such as railway bridges.
According to Governor Viacheslav Gladkov, the attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod on April 1 was the result of an “air attack by two helicopters of the Ukrainian armed forces that entered Russian territory at low altitude.”
“Nothing confirms Ukrainian sabotage, except that most of the fires appear to have hit strategic/military targets,” says Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at St. Petersburg University. Andrews in Scotland.
“It certainly seems to be part of their strategy,” he added.
Pentagon officials said Russian forces operating in Ukraine were hampered by weak supply chains and that attacks on their infrastructure would further affect the war effort.
But they declined to comment on whether they believed there was an active sabotage campaign within Russia targeting areas not directly involved with the occupation.
source: Noticias
