Moscow accuses Kiev of launching attacks on the gas pipeline to Europe

Russia accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on a gas distribution station belonging to the TurkStream pipeline, the only one available to transport Russian gas to Europe.
This is after the cessation of transit operations on January 1 and the sabotage of the Nord Stream line in 2022.

Ukraine’s attack on Russian energy

The Russian army said in a statement that “the Kiev regime attempted to launch a nine-march attack” on a gas distribution station affiliated with the TurkStream pipeline in the Krasnodar region in southwestern Russia “to suspend gas supplies to European countries.”
He pointed out that all marches were shot down without disrupting the station’s work, indicating that the attack “did not cause any casualties” among workers at this compressor station located in the Gay-Kudzor area.
However, the debris of one of the planes that was shot down led to minor damage to a building and some equipment, according to the source.

An unprecedented attack

The Russian army promised that the aim of this unprecedented attack was to “suspend the supply of gas to European countries” through the “Turkstream” pipeline, which runs under the waters of the Black Sea.
The Kremlin on Monday denounced “energy terrorism” practiced by Kiev.
Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that this attack “is essentially a continuation of terrorism in the energy sector practiced by Kiev, under the guardianship of foreign friends,” in reference to the United States.

The importance of the TurkStream gas pipeline

The TurkStream gas pipeline was launched in 2020 and transports 31.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, consisting of two parallel pipelines 930 kilometers long, linking Anapa in southern Russia to the town of Kikiyi in northwestern Turkey.
From there, it allows Russia and the giant oil company “Gazprom” to supply southeastern and southern Europe, especially Hungary and the Balkan countries, and the line has gained great importance for Moscow and its last European customers.
This comes as Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine stopped permanently on January 1, after the expiration of a contract concluded by Kiev and Moscow before the Russian attack on Ukraine.