Gazprom has reported drone strikes on the TurkStream pipeline infrastructure in Krasnodar Region
FILE PHOTO. Russkaya compressor station, part of the gas pipeline system that supplies gas to the Turkish Stream. Krasnodar Region, Russia. © Getty Images / Vitaly Timkiv; RIA Novosti
[RT] Kiev
has been deliberately attacking the infrastructure of the TurkStream
gas pipeline in an attempt to halt deliveries to European consumers, the
Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
The statement comes
after pipeline operator Gazprom reported on Wednesday that the Russkaya
compressor station in southern Krasnodar Region, which serves as the
starting point for supplies through the TurkStream, came under attack
overnight.
The company said the Beregovaya and Kazachya compressor
stations were also targeted the day before, adding that its facilities
in southern Russia were attacked 12 times in the past two weeks.
On Wednesday, the Defense Ministry confirmed the attacks, saying: “the Kiev regime, in order to stop gas supplies to European consumers, launched another attack using strike aircraft-type UAVs on the infrastructure of the Russkaya compressor station.”
The
ministry stated that four Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air
defense systems in the airspace adjacent to the station, two more were
intercepted by fighter aircraft, and three were destroyed by mobile fire
teams.
The TurkStream transports Russian gas to Türkiye
via the Black Sea, with one line dedicated to the Turkish market and
another supplying countries in Southern and Southeastern Europe.
Last
month, President Vladimir Putin said Russia has become aware of plans
to attack the TurkStream and Blue Stream trans-Black sea gas pipelines,
adding that the goal is to jeopardize the peace process to end the
Ukraine conflict.
Putin did not publicly attribute the alleged plot to a specific
party, saying it would be discussed behind closed doors with the Federal
Security Service (FSB) board.
In October, FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov warned that Ukraine and the UK were jointly preparing an attack on TurkStream.
Gas
and oil infrastructure in the Black Sea has repeatedly come under
Ukrainian attacks amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The
attacks involved long-range drone strikes against various facilities
ashore, as well as repeated attempts to target Russian naval vessels
patrolling the pipelines with sea drones.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the attack, saying it highlights the “true nature and essence of the Kiev regime,” describing the strikes as “especially irresponsible against the backdrop of a global energy crisis that is brewing day by day."