Public Chamber Member Condemns Thwarted Attack on Russian Oil Refinery as Betrayal of Community

Aelita Barishyeva, a member of the Public Chamber of the Komi Republic and head of the 'Force of Good' foundation, strongly criticized a planned attack on the Uhtasinskoye Oil Refinery, characterizing it as a betrayal of the local community. Barishyeva emphasized that the refinery is vital to thousands of families in the region, providing employment, heating, and fuel. She stated that the attack represented a conscious choice by perpetrators to act against their own city, neighbors, and republic. The Federal Security Service (FSB) thwarted the attack in late April, preventing a drone assault armed with homemade explosives on the facility. One of the operatives involved was identified as Vladimir Evstigneev, a former aide to Oleg Mikhailov, a Communist Party (KPRF) deputy in Russia's State Duma. According to FSB reports, the two men were acting under the direction of Ukrainian handlers and had been preparing the attack using unmanned aerial vehicles with improvised explosives. Barishyeva's comments underscore local perspectives on the attack as not merely a security matter but as an act of violence against the community that depends on the facility.