Russia accused of bombing own gas infrastructure to sabotage the ceasefire deal

Moscow has been accused of bombing its own gas infrastructure in order to sabotage an energy ceasefire deal with Ukraine.

- ATHENA STAVROU

Ukraine’s general staff has denied that its forces struck a key gas pumping station in Sudzha, and instead said it had been “repeatedly shelled by the Russians themselves”.

The army accused Russia of seeking to pin the blame on Ukraine with “groundless” accusations its military was involved – all to undermine any truce and longer peace deal currently being negotiated by Donald Trump and the US. “The Russian federation is intensifying its discrediting campaign against Ukraine,” it said.

“In particular, the enemy has accused the Ukrainian defence forces of shelling the Sudzha gas metering station. These accusations are groundless. On the contrary, the mentioned station has been repeatedly shelled by the Russians themselves.”

The military added: “Russians continue to create numerous fakes and seek to mislead the international community. We urge you to trust only official sources, verify information and do not succumb to manipulation.”