Russia accuses Ukraine of drone attack on TurkStream gas compressor station
Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on the "Russkaya" compressor station in the Krasnodar region. This station is the critical starting point for the TurkStream gas pipeline. According to Russia's Ministry of Defense, three drones were reportedly involved in the attack, all of which were allegedly intercepted, allowing gas supplies to continue uninterrupted. The announcement came on March 1, although Russia claims the attack happened overnight on February 28, purportedly ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington. There has been no comment from Ukraine regarding this incident.
In response to the attack, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reached out to his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, briefing him on the situation. Lavrov requested that Ankara leverage any influence it has over Kyiv to prevent such future incidents. Turkey's Foreign Ministry confirmed the call between the two ministers, describing it as a discussion on the "latest developments" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, while Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs hasn't published details of the conversation, it did note Fidan's participation in a summit on Ukraine in London on March 1, which President Zelensky also attended.
Simultaneously, Lavrov engaged with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who initiated the call due to concerns about the security of the gas pipeline. Szijjártó emphasized that the TurkStream represents a "security guarantee for Hungary's natural gas supplies" and condemned the drone attack as an "infringement on the country's sovereignty." The Hungarian minister has urged the European Commission to pressure Ukrainian authorities to refrain from targeting EU-bound infrastructure. Szijjártó posted about the discussion on Facebook.
Following the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines, the TurkStream remains the only pipeline ferrying Russian gas to Europe, amidst halted transit through Ukraine and the now-dormant Yamal-Europe pipeline. The TurkStream's annual capacity is 31.5 billion cubic meters, with reported exports to Europe amounting to 3.1 billion cubic meters in January-February 2025. Previously, on January 11, Russia reported an attempt by Ukrainian drones to attack the "Russkaya" station and later, on February 17, cited attacks on the "Kropotkinskaya" oil pumping station, suggesting a sustained disruption in oil flow.