Russia shot down nine Ukrainian drones that were trying to attack the infrastructure of the TurkStream gas pipeline, the Russian Defense Ministry said on January 13.
"On January 11, 2025, Kiev used nine drones to attack the infrastructure at the Russkaya compressor station in the Gai-Kodzor settlement in the Krasnodar region. This compressor station supplies gas to the TurkStream pipeline. The goal of the attack was to stop the gas supply to European countries. Air defense systems shot down all drones involved in the attack," the statement said.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the facility is still operating normally, with no casualties reported.
Debris from a drone caused minor damage to the gas station's building and equipment, but rescue teams quickly repaired it, the Russian Defense Ministry added.
The TurkStream gas pipeline starts from the Russkaya compressor station outside the Russian city of Anapa and goes to Kıyıkoy, Türkiye, and then to Europe. The compressor station is used to stabilize the pressure and flow of gas.
The TurkStream and Blue Stream pipelines, which run under the Black Sea to Türkiye, are the last pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe after Ukraine refused to extend a gas transit agreement through its territory earlier this year.
In early 2025, Hurriyet Daily News reported that over the course of five years, the TurkStream pipeline had transported 104.1 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Türkiye and then on to Europe.
Accordingly, from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2024, approximately 44.4 billion cubic meters of gas were delivered from Russia to Türkiye and 59.8 billion cubic meters of gas were delivered to Europe via the TurkStream pipeline.
Hurriyet Daily News emphasized that after the closure of the Nord Stream, Nord Stream 2 and Yamal - Europe pipelines and Ukraine's suspension of Russian gas transit, TurkStream is increasingly important because it is the only transit route that can continue to deliver Russian gas to Europe.
TurkStream consists of two 930 km long sea pipelines and two separate land pipelines of 142 km and 70 km long. The pipeline was officially inaugurated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 1, 2020.
The first section of TurkStream, stretching from Anapa in Russia to Kiyikoy, Türkiye, has a total transport capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters, supplying gas to Türkiye. Gas is delivered to Europe via the second section, 142 km long and 1.2 m wide, stretching from Kiyikoy to Bulgaria, built by TurkStream Gas Transport Company.
