Kyiv claims Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure to advance a disinformation campaign, just days after both sides reportedly agreed to a ceasefire deal
Ukraine has accused Russia of attacking its own gas pipeline to fuel a disinformation campaign against Kyiv, just days after the two sides reportedly agreed to stop targeting energy infrastructure as part of a 30-day ceasefire.
Dramatic video footage posted online purports to show fire engulfing the Sudzha pipeline in Russia’s Kursk region, bordering Ukraine.
Sudzha was one of the first towns to be captured by Ukrainian forces last summer in a cross-border attack.
“The Russians continue to produce numerous fakes and seek to mislead the international community,” said the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, the central military command and control body.
Moscow swiftly denounced the attack, saying it “speaks volumes about the untrustworthiness of [Volodymyr] Zelensky and his team”.
“It is evident how much we can trust the words of Zelensky and other representatives of the Kiev regime,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. “This, by the way, is a point we have repeatedly emphasised in the dialogue with our partners.”
Donald Trump spoke this week separately with the Ukrainian president and Vladimir Putin, who both agreed to halt attacks on energy targets.
However, the details of this limited pause remain unclear, as it falls short of the 30-day ceasefire that Trump had envisioned would stop all fighting while peace negotiations are under way.
The Sudzha gas pipeline was the sole route for Russian gas to transit through Ukraine to Europe until Ukraine chose not to extend a transit agreement in January of this year, according to Reuters. A second crossing point was shut down in 2022.
Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy and military infrastructure, along with attacks on maritime targets in the Black Sea, are viewed as some of Kyiv’s key successes in countering Russian offensives.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire at a storehouse following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
Firefighters at a storehouse following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, on Friday (Photo: Ukrainian emergency service via AP)
The deal brokered by Trump between Kyiv and Moscow stipulates that these attacks should cease — a condition both sides appear to be violating.
Zelensky said on Friday that Russia has been attacking several Ukrainian regions since the previous day, including Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Chernihiv.
“Starting in the evening, Russia attacked regions of Ukraine with over two hundred strike drones and decoy drones. Guided aerial bombs were also used,” he said.
Flames from a “massive” strike in Odesa engulfed a shopping mall and damaged a residential building, injuring three children, according to Zelensky.
Ukraine’s justice minister Olha Stefanishyna said Odesa experienced “another night of terror” with “about two dozen explosions” and “eight harrowing hours of air raid alerts”.
Municipal workers clean up after Russian drones hit shops during the night attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Shtekel)
Aftermath of the overnight Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine on Friday (Photo: Michael Shtekel/AP)
Six people, including a four-year-old child, were injured by Russian aerial bombs in the Zaporizhzhia region as well, Zelensky said.
“It is joint pressure on Russia, along with tougher sanctions and stronger defence support for our country, that paves the way to ending this kind of terror and Russia’s prolongation of the war.”
“We expect real pressure on Russia from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. This is what will enable diplomacy to work,” he added.