Ukraine's latest long-range strikes on Russia hit a major natural gas plant and satellite communications centers

By — Illia Novikov, Associated Press Illia Novikov, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/ukraines-latest-long-range-strikes-on-russia-hit-a-major-natural-gas-plant-and-satellite-communications-centers Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Ukraine's latest long-range strikes on Russia hit a major natural gas plant and satellite communications centers World Jun 24, 2026 10:29 AM EDT KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces struck a major natural gas processing plant and two key satellite communications centers in their latest nighttime attacks on Russia, Ukraine's General Staff said Wednesday. The operation was part of Ukraine's aerial campaign targeting energy facilities and military industries that has intensified as Kyiv builds bigger and better long-range weapons to ward off Russia's full-scale invasion, now in its fifth year. READ MORE: Ukraine and Russia exchange deadly strikes, with at least 1 child killed in Sumy In response, Moscow has ordered the redeployment of some air defense systems from Russian regions to the capital and to Crimea's Kerch Bridge, a crucial transport link for supplying Russian troops, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The bridge connects the Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland. "It is important that as many Russians as possible come to understand that it is the Russian leadership's rejection of diplomacy that is prolonging the war," Zelenskyy said on X. Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump but Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused. Ukraine says the stricken gas plant was one of the world's largest The overnight attack hit the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, which is part of a complex that also houses the only helium plant in Russia, the General Staff said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. The attack set the complex on fire, it said. Orenburg, in the southern Urals near Russia's border with Kazakhstan, is more than 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) behind the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine. The plant is one of the largest gas complexes in the world, according to the General Staff. It produces helium, used in liquid-fuel rocket engines and guidance systems, and ethane, a key component in producing solid rocket fuel and gunpowder, it added. Overnight attacks also hit two satellite communication centers used by the Russian military, according to the General Staff. One was the Dubna Space Communications Center near Moscow, which it described as Russia's largest ground-based satellite communications complex, and the other was in the Vladimir region east of the capital. It was not possible to independently verify the General Staff's report, and Russian officials made no immediate comment. The General Staff's statement did not say whether the military used drones or missiles in the assault, but drones have recently been used to strike Mos