According to the outlet, “significant volumes of electricity” pass through the targeted facility, including power from the Syzran and Zhiguli hydroelectric plants directed toward central Russian oblasts. The substation is owned and maintained by the Rosseti – MES Volga branch, Astra wrote.
Satellite imagery from NASA’s FIRMS service confirmed a fire at the site in Ulyanovsk Oblast.
Regional governor Aleksey Russkikh acknowledged the attack, saying there were “no casualties or injuries” and that power supply to nearby settlements “continues as normal.”
Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, said the substation was targeted after partial repairs had been completed.
“This is one of the key elements of Russia’s power grid,” Kovalenko noted, adding that the facility serves as a major transit node for electricity from the Syzran and Zhiguli hydroelectric stations feeding the country’s industrial area.