The Russian Ministry of Defense reportedly said that the Ukrainian military attacked a station supplying gas through the Turkish Stream pipeline, in an attempt to "cut off gas supplies to European countries," according to a Telegram post by the local news outlet Crimean Wind.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian Ministries of Defense via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The Turkish Stream pipeline runs from Russia to Turkey, but also supplies parts of South and Southeast Europe, enabling Russia to avoid using Ukraine as a transit country when exporting natural gas to Europe, according to the Middle East Monitor.
After Ukraine suspended the transit of Russian gas through its territory earlier this month, the Turkish Stream pipeline was the last remaining route for Russian gas exports to Europe.
What To Know
On Saturday, nine Ukrainian drones targeted the Russkaya compressor station in the village of Gai-Kodzor, in Krasnodar Territory, according to the news outlet ASTRA's post on Telegram, which cited the Russian Defense Ministry.
Per ASTRA's post on the Russian social media platform, the country's ministry of defense reportedly said that all of the drones were shot down, but the debris of one of the drones minorly damaged the building and its equipment.
It reportedly added that the damage was promptly mended and the operations at the facility continued as normal, ASTRA reported.
According to EurAsia Daily, the defense ministry also said there were no casualties at the compressor station.
The attack has not yet been independently verified by major news outlets, including Reuters, but there were reports of a drone raid in Krasnodar Territory on the night of January 11, according to the ASTRA telegram post, and the Russian town Anapa's mayor's office also allegedly urged residents not to go outside but to take refuge indoors.
The Turkish Stream pipeline allegedly exported 47 million cubic meters of natural gas to Europe on January 11, EurAsia Daily reported. Per the outlet, the pipeline transports around 32 billion cubic meters per year.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post on January 1 that after the expiry of an agreement with Russia through its energy firm Gazprom, the country could no longer use Ukraine as a transit in exporting gas to Europe.
What People Are Saying
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement seen by EurAsia Daily: "On January 11, 2025, the Kiev regime, in order to stop gas supplies to European countries, attempted an attack using nine aircraft-type UAVs on the infrastructure of the Russian compressor station in the village of Gai-Kodzor (Krasnodar Territory), which supplies gas via the Turkish Stream pipeline.
"There are no casualties among the service personnel of the compressor station and there is no destruction. As a result of the fall of fragments of one UAV, the building and equipment of the gas measuring station on the territory of the Russian CS received minor damage."
What's Next
The construction of the Turkish Stream pipeline reportedly increased Ukraine's vulnerability politically, the Middle East Monitor reported, as it meant Ukraine lost leverage over Russia's ability to export gas to Europe. After Zelensky announced that the agreement with the Russian energy firm Gazprom had expired, leaving the Turkish Stream pipeline as Russia's only gas export route to Europe, the tension in Krasnodar Territory, where the pipeline station is, could start to amplify.
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