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ATESH says it destroyed communications tower near Perm ahead of Ukrainian strike on LUKOIL refinery

The ATESH partisan movement reported that its agents destroyed a communications tower in the Perm area of Perm Krai, Russia, shortly before Ukrainian drones struck the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery on August 21. ATESH said the tower served as a backup channel for coordination between the facility's security and Russian military units covering it, and that the sabotage was carried out by a Russian serviceman who had gone AWOL and later joined ATESH.

Key points

  • ATESH reported that its agents destroyed a communications tower in the Perm area of Perm Krai on the eve of a Ukrainian strike on the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery.
  • The Ukrainian drone strike on the refinery occurred on August 21.
  • ATESH said the tower served as a backup channel for exchanging operational information between the facility's security and Russian military units covering the object.
  • According to ATESH, the sabotage was carried out by a Russian serviceman who had gone AWOL.
  • The serviceman joined ATESH after making contact with the movement, citing disagreement with the country's leadership and lawlessness during military service.
  • ATESH said the loss of the tower disrupted data transmission and left the facility's security without stable coordination.
  • ATESH previously reported damaging two relay cabinets on a railway line in Belgorod Oblast used to move ammunition and supplies toward the Kupiansk direction.

Why it matters

The episode, as described by ATESH, shows partisan action coordinated with a Ukrainian drone strike against a major Russian oil-processing site, the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez refinery. ATESH's account frames the operation as aimed at degrading the coordination between the refinery's security and the Russian military units protecting it, and attributes the act to an AWOL Russian serviceman, which ATESH presents as evidence of internal dissent inside the Russian armed forces.

What happened

ATESH, a partisan movement operating against Russian authorities, reported that its agents destroyed a communications tower in the Perm area of Perm Krai shortly before Ukrainian drones struck the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery on August 21. According to ATESH, the destroyed tower had served as a backup channel for exchanging operational information between the refinery's security and the Russian military units responsible for covering the facility. ATESH said the sabotage was carried out by a Russian serviceman who had gone AWOL, and who contacted ATESH and joined the resistance, citing disagreement with Russia's leadership and with lawlessness he encountered during military service. ATESH reported that after the tower was destroyed, data transmission at the site was disrupted and the facility's security was left without stable communications and coordination, and that Ukrainian drones struck the refinery complex shortly afterward.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

All four supplied sources are Ukrainian outlets (ZN.UA, Ukrinform, LIGA.net/LB.ua, and NV). They frame the sabotage as a deliberate ATESH operation timed to weaken Russian air defenses and security coordination before a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian oil refinery, and highlight the role of an AWOL Russian serviceman motivated by disagreement with Russian leadership and lawlessness during service, presenting the episode as a sign of internal dissent inside the Russian military.

Background

ATESH presents itself as a partisan resistance movement operating against Russian authorities. The movement previously said its agents damaged two relay cabinets on a railway line in Belgorod Oblast that Russian forces had planned to use to deliver ammunition and engineering supplies toward the Kupiansk direction, and that the damage delayed movement on that section and prevented the planned echelon from being dispatched.