dpa
Moscow
Ukrainian drones have targeted a gas compressor station for the TurkStream pipeline that pumps Russian gas to Europe via Turkey, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said.
All of the combat drones had been shot down and no casualties had been recorded among employees at the Russkaya station in the southern Krasnodar region, it said.
All damage resulting from falling drone debris had been immediately repaired, according to the ministry. Operations at the station, some 320 kilometres from the Ukrainian-Russian front line, were said to be running normally. Kiev has not yet commented on the report.
Kremlin derides ‘energy terrorism’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke of “energy terrorism” under the control of what he termed Ukraine’s “transoceanic friends.” For its part, Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the start of its invasion in order to put pressure on the population, especially in winter. The pipeline, which came into operation in 2020, transports natural gas over a distance of 1,100 kilometres through the Black Sea to the European part of Turkey.
The gas is then transported via connecting pipelines to other European states, mainly Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary.
As Russian gas is no longer being pumped to the European Union via Ukraine, after Kiev decided to let an existing transit contract expire at the end of last year, TurkStream is an alternative route for Russian gas to reach EU countries, even though the EU has been trying to wean itself of Russian energy deliveries.
