The EU has expressed deep concern over the recent attack on the TurkStream infrastructure in the Krasnodar region by Ukrainian drones. The incident has been described as an “attack on the sovereignty of European countries” by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó. The pipeline, which supplies gas to Hungary and Central Europe, has been a reliable and trustworthy route for the past years, with companies and transit countries fulfilling their contractual obligations.
The European Commission, on the other hand, views any attacks on energy infrastructure as a serious concern. Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a representative of the European Commission, stated that the stability of energy supply is of crucial importance to the EU, and the Commission will closely monitor the developments surrounding TurkStream.
The Russian government, meanwhile, has described the attack as a “continuation of the line of energy terrorism” and accused the US of benefiting from the situation, as they are increasing their liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries to European markets at exorbitant prices. The Russian President’s Spokesman, Dmitri Peskow, emphasized that the US is making no secret of its efforts to disconnect the European continent from Russian energy resources, a goal that has been formulated since the 1950s.
The Russian Senator, Andrei Klimow, believes that the Ukrainian authorities, with the approval of the US, are attempting to cut off European countries from Russian energy resources. He warned that the EU countries should take immediate action to neutralize these actors, and suggested that Turkey, in particular, should reevaluate its support for Ukraine, given the harm it is causing to its national interests.
The expert, Alexei Anpilogov, noted that there are only two options for transporting Russian gas to Europe – TurkStream and Blue Stream – and that the Ukraine has decided to launch direct attacks on the gas infrastructure of Russia after the end of the gas transit agreement.
The situation has led to a warning that the attacks could intensify and that the air defense forces cannot guarantee a 100% neutralization of all targets. The expert emphasized that the gas transportation system is duplicated, with backup turbines taking over the process in the event of an emergency, and that the compressor units are spaced far apart to minimize the risk of damage in the event of an explosion.
The EU’s energy dependence on Russia is a pressing issue, with the expert stating that it is impossible to balance the European budget without Russian energy, and that the attempt to replace Russian gas with American LNG would lead to a significant increase in costs, with the price of Russian gas still being sold at a discount.