ATESH partisans say they destroyed communications tower in Perm before Ukrainian strike on LUKOIL refinery
The ATESH partisan movement reported that its agents destroyed a communications tower in Russia's Perm region on the eve of a Ukrainian drone strike on the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery on August 21. The tower served as a backup channel between the facility's security and Russian military units covering it, and ATESH said its destruction left the facility's security without stable communications and coordination. The group said the sabotage was carried out by a Russian serviceman who had gone AWOL and joined the movement citing disagreement with the country's leadership and lawlessness during military service.
Key points
- ATESH said its agents destroyed a communications tower in Russia's Perm region ahead of a Ukrainian strike on the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez refinery on August 21.
- The tower served as a backup channel for exchanging operational information between the facility's security and Russian military units covering the site.
- ATESH said the sabotage was carried out by a Russian serviceman who had gone AWOL and joined the movement.
- The AWOL serviceman cited disagreement with Russia's leadership and lawlessness during his military service as reasons for joining ATESH.
- After the tower was destroyed, data transmission was disrupted and the facility's security lost stable communications and coordination, according to ATESH.
- Shortly after the sabotage, Ukrainian drones struck the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez complex.
- ATESH agents previously damaged two relay cabinets on a railway line in Belgorod Oblast, delaying a planned Russian echelon toward the Kupiansk direction.
Why it matters
The reported sabotage points to coordination between partisan action on the ground and Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian fuel infrastructure. The destruction of a backup communications channel likely hampered air-defense coordination around the refinery at the moment of the attack. The account also highlights a Russian serviceman joining the ATESH resistance, suggesting internal dissent inside the Russian military.
What happened
According to the ATESH partisan movement, its agents destroyed a communications tower in Russia's Perm region shortly before Ukrainian drones struck the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery on August 21. ATESH said the tower functioned as a reserve channel for exchanging operational information between the refinery's security and Russian military units responsible for covering the facility. The group said the destruction disrupted data transmission, leaving the facility's security without stable communications and coordination at the time of the strike.
ATESH said the sabotage was carried out by a Russian serviceman who had gone AWOL. The serviceman contacted ATESH and joined the resistance after encountering what the movement described as lawlessness during his military service and disagreement with Russia's leadership policy. ATESH said Ukrainian drones struck the refinery complex shortly after the tower was brought down.
The group also referenced earlier operations, including the damaging of two relay cabinets on a railway line in Belgorod Oblast that Russian forces had planned to use to move ammunition and engineering supplies toward the Kupiansk direction, delaying a planned echelon.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All three Ukrainian sources frame the operation as a successful ATESH action that deprived Russian forces of communications ahead of a Ukrainian strike on fuel infrastructure. Coverage centers ATESH's own narrative, including the AWOL Russian soldier's stated motives — disagreement with the country's leadership and conditions in military service. The earlier ATESH sabotage of railway relay cabinets in Belgorod Oblast is presented as part of the same broader partisan campaign against Russian logistics.
Background
ATESH agents had previously damaged two relay cabinets on a railway line in Belgorod Oblast that Russian forces planned to use to deliver ammunition and engineering supplies toward the Kupiansk direction, delaying a planned echelon. The destroyed Perm tower served as a backup communications channel between the refinery's security and the Russian military units responsible for covering the facility.