Ukraine hit Russian oil pumping station before ceasefire

• Ukraine struck a Russian fuel pumping station in Krasnodar, a key oil export point, intensifying attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure.
• A 32-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire, declared by Putin and adopted by Ukraine, commenced with no major violations reported.
• Russia and Ukraine exchanged 175 prisoners of war each, mediated by the UAE, with many Ukrainians held since 2022.

MOSCOW - Ukraine struck a fuel pumping station in Russia’s Krasnodar region overnight, hours before the start of 32-hour ceasefire for Orthodox Easter and a prisoner-of-war swop. 

Kyiv’s forces hit the Krymskaya facility, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Telegram.

Earlier, authorities of the southern Russian region reported on Telegram that a drone attack had caused a fire at a fuel depot, but did not specifically mention the pumping station.

The fire was extinguished by the morning, according to regional authorities. 

The facility serves as a main pipeline toward the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, a key point for Russian oil exports, as well as a link to crude oil from the Afipsky and Ilsky refineries. 

Ukraine in recent weeks has intensified attacks on Russia’s oil-export infrastructure in both the Black Sea and Baltic Sea, aiming to curb Russia’s oil export revenue.

Transneft’s Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk halted loadings for a time this week after an attack by Ukrainian drones. The port resumed oil loading several days after the attack. 

The latest strike happened ahead of a 32-hour ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin for Orthodox Easter and also adopted by Ukraine.

The halt in hostilities started as planned at 4pm Moscow time and will last through April 12.

There have been no reports of any serious violations so far.

Also ahead of the ceasefire, Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners of war in a swop mediated by the United Arab Emirates.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the exchange of 175 POWs from each side – the third so far this year – in a post on social media. 

Most of the POWs returned from Russia had been in captivity since 2022, Mr Zelensky said, and included members of the armed forces, the national guard and border guard, as well as seven civilians. 

Russia’s defence ministry commented on the swop in a statement reported by Interfax. The returned soldiers are currently in Belarus and receiving medical and psychological assistance, the ministry said. 

Kyiv and Moscow have conducted more than 70 prisoner swops since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the country’s main agency dealing with exchanges. BLOOMBERG