Russia's Defense Ministry on Friday accused Ukraine of firing rockets and more than a dozen drones at its energy infrastructure, violating a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between the two warring sides.
"Over the past 24 hours, the Kyiv regime continued its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure using various types of drones and HIMARS multiple rocket launchers," the military said in a morning statement.
It claimed that Ukraine launched rockets at the Sudzha gas metering station in the southwestern Kursk region, already damaged in an earlier attack, as well as 19 drones at an oil refinery in the southern Saratov region.
President Vladimir Putin said he ordered a 30-day halt on strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure starting March 18, coming after a call with U.S. President Donald Trump. However, Ukraine did not immediately agree to the ceasefire, and monitoring remains unclear as Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of violating the agreement.
The White House had said Tuesday that both Russia and Ukraine agreed separately to "develop measures for implementing" a halt on strikes on energy infrastructure.
On Friday, Ukraine denied claims that its forces fired on the gas metering station Sudzha and accused Russia's military of striking the facility.
"Russia has again attacked the Sudzha gas transmission system in the Kursk region, which they do not control," Andriy Kovalenko, an official who is responsible for countering disinformation, said on social media.
Ukraine says Russia has repeatedly broken its own commitment not to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure and has called for the United States to react to the reported ceasefire violations.
AFP contributed reporting.
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