A gas measurement station in the Kursk region, near the Ukrainian border, is on fire, according to reports from Russian Telegram channels and the Rossijskaja Gaseta. The flames are visible from the city of Kursk, which is approximately 90 kilometers north of the border.
Initial reports of the incident came from military blogger Yuri Podolyaka, who shared a drone video of the fire, showing a large flame with smoke and damaged pipelines. Russian war correspondents also wrote about the incident on their Telegram channels.
Officially, the cause of the fire and the incident itself have not been reported. However, the Telegram channel SHOT claims that the fire was caused by a strike from the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU). Podolyaka suspects that the AFU destroyed the gas station in Sudscha before retreating.
Sudscha was the last gas station through which Russian gas flowed to Europe via Ukraine, Slovakia and Austria before January 1. In 2023, despite the ongoing war, 14.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas were transported to the European Union via this route. Since January 1, the gas transit has not been requested, according to data from the Ukrainian operator GTS. The pipeline in the area of the gas station still contains residual gas, which is now on fire. Due to the damaged station being in a combat zone under Ukrainian control, the fire cannot be extinguished at present. Russian official authorities have not commented on the incident.
Ukraine accuses Russia of attacks on its infrastructure, while Russia denies the allegations, claiming the AFU attacked the gas station in Sudscha. The Ukrainian General Staff, however, denies these claims, stating that Russia itself has repeatedly bombarded the station, both in the summer and three days prior. The General Staff also accused Russia of spreading false information and attempting to mislead the international community.