Russia Reports Attempted 'Terrorist Attack' On Druzhba Oil Pipeline
Russian pipeline monopoly operator Transneft said on Wednesday that there was an attempt at a “terrorist attack” on a filling station of the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia's Bryansk region bordering Ukraine.
“Yes, indeed, early this morning there was an attempt to commit a terrorist act against the Druzhba oil pipeline system at the Bryansk filling station,” Transneft's representative Igor Demin told Russian news agency TASS, confirming an earlier report from a Telegram channel with links to Russia's law enforcement agencies.
No injuries have been reported, Demin told TASS, adding that the incident is being investigated.
The Druzhba pipeline is a key artery of oil supply from Russia to Europe. It has two branches – a northern one via Belarus to deliver oil to Belarus, Poland, Germany, Latvia, and Lithuania, and a southern one passing through Ukraine and sending oil to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Croatia.
Flows through the Druzhba pipeline are exempted from the EU embargo on imports of Russian crude oil by sea that came into effect on December 5. The EU has exempted pipeline oil flows to landlocked EU member states from the ban.