Ukrainian partisans have made it all the way to Russia’s Saratov, located approximately 1,100 kilometers from Kyiv. The Atesh movement has claimed responsibility for a successful sabotage operation targeting a critical energy infrastructure facility deep inside Russia.
Atesh, formed in September 2022 following the start of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine, claimed to have developed a network of agents within the Russian military. They have also established training courses to instruct Russian soldiers on how to damage their equipment.
The attack has cut power to key enterprises, including an oil refinery and a mobilization center. This is yet another warning—the war is reaching even those who thought they were “far away.”
In Saratov, Russia, a powerful energy explosion was reported, and a transformer substation has gone out of service following an attack by the Atesh partisan movement.
According to the group, the substation powered several important facilities, including mobile communication base stations.
The power outage has hit an area hosting strategically important sites for the Russian military, the GazPromMash oil refinery, the PiroGroup enterprise, and a mobilization center, which, according to the partisans, has been used to coordinate operations against Ukraine.
In its statement, Atesh says that such operations not only disrupt enemy logistics but also create chaos in its rear.
The partisans warn that this is just the beginning, and they will continue destroying infrastructure that supports Russia’s war effort.
“The shutdown of these communication stations will seriously complicate enemy coordination, disrupt logistics, and create additional problems for the occupiers in organizing their defense,” Atesh notes.
Earlier, the Ukrainian resistance reported that Russian National Guard soldiers allegedly involved in looting residents in Kherson Oblast, mysteriously disappeared under unclear circumstances in the Russian-occupied city of Nova Kakhovka.