MELITOPOL, March 23. /TASS/. By launching an artillery strike on a power facility in the Zaporozhye Region, the Kiev regime has demonstrated its unwillingness to pursue peace initiatives, Governor Yevgeny Balitsky told TASS.
"Ukraine's continued attacks on energy facilities in the Zaporozhye Region further highlight the terrorist nature of Kiev's militants, who have shown no readiness for peace initiatives and are prone to constant provocations. The Ukrainian regime demonstrates its incompetence, with uncontrollable militants seemingly in control," Balitsky said. He stressed that the risk of additional strikes persists.
Earlier, Deputy Governor Anton Titsky reported that Ukraine had launched a massive strike on an energy facility in the Zaporozhye Region. Ukrainian troops attacked a power substation in Pologi, leaving more than 11,000 subscribers without electricity.
On March 18, Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump discussed the situation in Ukraine, conditions for preventing escalation, and a number of international topics by phone. According to the Kremlin, Putin agreed with the US leader’s proposal on mutual refusal of the parties to the conflict in Ukraine from attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days. According to the White House, the parties also agreed to begin technical negotiations to introduce a "cease-fire on the Black Sea, a full cease-fire and permanent peace."
On the night of March 19, a fire broke out at an oil depot in the village of Kavkazskaya, Krasnodar Region, ignited by falling debris from a Ukrainian UAV. The pipeline between the tanks was damaged, and the automatic fire extinguishing and cooling system was activated. There was a leak from one tank, followed by the ignition of petroleum products. On the night of March 21, the Ukrainian military blew up the Sudzha station, which previously supplied gas from Russia to Europe. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitriy Peskov stated that the Kiev regime's attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure, including the bombing of the Sudzha gas metering station, clearly demonstrate the true cost of the assurances provided by Vladimir Zelensky and his team.