Pro-Ukraine partisans claim sabotage of Russian communications tower ahead of refinery strike

• A pro-Ukrainian partisan group, Atesh, claims a Russian servicemember sabotaged a communications tower near Perm.
• The sabotage reportedly disrupted data transmission, impacting military coordination.
• Ukrainian drones subsequently struck the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery.
• The refinery temporarily suspended operations after the drone attack.
• Atesh has claimed responsibility for other sabotage incidents within Russia.

A pro-Ukrainian partisan group known as Atesh has claimed that a Russian servicemember defected and sabotaged a communications tower near the city of Perm, approximately 1,500 kilometers from Ukraine. The group alleges this act disrupted data transmission, hindering coordination for Russian security and military units.

Following the alleged sabotage, Ukrainian drones reportedly struck the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery on August 21. Operations at the facility, which processes over 13 million metric tons of crude oil annually, were temporarily suspended. The Kyiv Independent stated it could not verify the claims made by Atesh.

This incident follows previous Ukrainian strikes on the same refinery on July 29, as part of a wider campaign against Russian energy infrastructure. The Atesh group has a history of claiming responsibility for sabotaging Russian military infrastructure, including an electric substation powering a military plant and an electric locomotive within Russia.