TurkStream Gas Pipeline Incident: Drone Attack Explained
On Monday, Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone strike against the TurkStream gas pipeline infrastructure. This pipeline is crucial as it transports Russian gas to Europe via Turkey. According to a statement from Moscow’s defense ministry, the Kyiv regime attempted to launch an attack involving nine drones targeting a gas compressor station situated in southern Russia. Their goal was to disrupt gas supplies to European nations.
The defense ministry reported that all drones involved in the attack were successfully intercepted and destroyed. However, some debris caused minor damage to a building and equipment at a gas measuring station located in Gai-Kodzor, a village along the southern coast of Russia, across from Crimea. Notably, the facility continued operating normally, with no interruptions reported in the gas supply.
The Importance of TurkStream Pipeline
The TurkStream pipeline, which runs 930 kilometers (577 miles) beneath the Black Sea, serves as the last remaining active conduit for Russian gas to Europe. It has a significant annual capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters (1.11 trillion cubic feet). Prior to this incident, Ukraine had halted the transit of Russian gas on January 1, eliminating the primary route that had been used for decades to ship supplies to Europe.
Since the onset of the full-scale military offensive by Moscow in February 2022, European nations have been actively seeking alternatives to Russian gas. The European Union, consisting of 27 member states, has made concerted efforts to reduce its dependency on Russian energy sources. Despite the decline in pipeline imports, some European countries have turned to increased purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas, which is transported by sea.
