Russia’s Defence Ministry announced on Saturday 3 October that it had targeted a dry cargo vessel in the north-western Black Sea, saying it was bound for the port of Odesa and carrying dual-use materials intended for supplies to the Ukrainian army.
The ministry said in a statement: “A dry cargo vessel in the north-western Black Sea, carrying a dual-use consignment to the port of Odesa intended for supplies to the Ukrainian army, was targeted.” The statement did not specify the nature of the materials carried by the vessel or the damage caused by the strike.
Russia announces downing of 218 drones
In the same statement, the Defence Ministry said Russian air-defence systems had intercepted and downed 218 Ukrainian drones overnight over 14 Russian regions and above the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. The ministry said the interceptions took place between 20:00 on 2 October and 08:00 on 3 October.
According to its account, the areas included the airspace over the regions of Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Oryol, Rostov, Ryazan, Smolensk and Tula, as well as Moscow and its suburbs, Krasnodar Krai and the Republic of Crimea, along with the area over the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. The developments coincide with reports that Russia is preparing to launch a broad campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the winter.
Document outlines plan to strike energy infrastructure
The information is based on a Russian document that Kyiv said it obtained through an intelligence interception and which The New York Times said it had reviewed. The document, dated August and written in Russian, refers to a plan for systematic attacks using up to 1,000 missiles, drones and bombs.
The targets listed include electricity substations, thermal and hydroelectric power plants, and heating facilities, in an effort to disrupt electricity, heating and water supplies in Ukrainian cities. According to the newspaper, Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal presented the document to European partners in Paris two weeks ago, describing it as a Russian plan to bring down Ukraine’s energy system through phased strikes.
The plan also includes targeting electricity distribution yards connected to Ukraine’s three operating nuclear power plants in order to force them to shut down. The yards are located less than one mile from the reactors.
