► Ukraine strikes an oil site in Russia
The Ukrainian army claimed, Wednesday January 8, to have struck during the night an oil site in Russia located 500 kilometers from the border and supplying the Russian military aircraft which are bombing Ukraine.
“The Combinat Kristall oil depot in Engels, Saratov region, was attacked” overnight, the Ukrainian army general staff said on Telegram. This site “supplied fuel to the Engels-2 military airfield, where enemy strategic aviation is based”he added.
According to media reports, the air base hosts Tupolev strategic bombers that Russia has used to fire cruise missiles at cities and critical infrastructure in Ukraine since the invasion began almost three years ago.
► The Polish consulate in Saint Petersburg closed in retaliation
Poland announced the closure of its consulate in Saint Petersburg, in retaliation for that of the Russian consulate in Poznan last October. She denounced alleged sabotage attempts by Russia against Poland, Russia’s hereditary enemy, and other European countries.
“This declaration, completely unwelcome since it is full of innuendo, forces socialist and related deputies to express their deep concern”they wrote in a press release.
► The end of Russian gas creates a “humanitarian crisis” in Transnistria
Transnistria, a pro-Russian separatist territory in Moldova, is in a situation of “energy crisis” et “humanitarian”a local official was alarmed on Wednesday, a week after the cessation of vital deliveries of Russian gas.
The Russian giant Gazprom has until now supplied Transnistria via the local supplier Tiraspoltransgaz, without this company paying for these deliveries. The secessionist entity sent payment requests to Chisinau, gradually increasing Moldova’s debt to Gazprom.
The conflict over the debt to be settled with Gazprom, which is estimated at more than 700 million dollars by Moscow but estimated at around 9 million by Chisinau, pushed Russia to turn off the tap from January 1. Since then, the Transnistrian authorities have had to introduce power cuts and shut down many industries.
