RT reported that the Russian air defense system intercepted 3 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) near the Russkaya strategic air compresssion station in the Krasnodar region - an important facility serving the TurkStream gas pipeline. The Russian Defense Ministry condemned the sabotage plot by Ukraine against critical energy infrastructure.
TurkStream is a gas pipeline from Russia to Türkiye and many European countries such as Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Greece. Starting operation in January 2020, the pipeline system has a capacity of up to 31.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
In a statement on March 1, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the attack took place on the night of February 28, coinciding with the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the US. Moscow has accused Kiev of trying to sabotage the flow of Russian gas to Europe, causing instability in the regional energy market.
Three UAVs attacking the Russkaya air compressors were destroyed before reaching the target. The Russian Defense Ministry said the energy infrastructure was not damaged and was still operating normally.
After the incident, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, calling on Turkey to put pressure on Kiev to stop attacks on civil infrastructure. Turkey has pledged to take necessary measures to prevent the situation.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also condemned the attack, calling it an act of violating Hungary's sovereignty. He stressed that TurkStream is a guarantee for Hungarys energy security and that any threat to the pipeline would directly affect the countrys sovereignty.
The latest attack was not the first time Russkaya had been targeted. In January, Russia also reported an attack by a US-led attack by a pair of suicide UAVs carried out by Ukraine. Although all UAVs were shot down and debris from the explosion caused some minor damage, the facility was quickly repaired and put back into operation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has condemned Ukraine for conducting "energy terrorism" and accused Kiev of deliberately sabotaging the stability of gas supplies to Europe.
Despite the attacks, gas supplies from Russia via TurkStream were not interrupted. According to Reuters, gas flows through the route will reach a record high in January 2025, with a flow of more than 50 million cubic meters per day.
Ukraine has previously announced the termination of its gas transit contract with Gazprom by the end of 2024, making TurkStream the only route to supply Russian gas to Southern and Southeastern Europe.
The latest attack shows that tensions continue to escalate in the Russia-Ukraine confrontation, raising concerns about the safety of gas supplies in Europe amid a prolonged crisis.
