Today, only the TurkStream can transport gas from Russia, which happens to enter the EU through the Hungarian-Serbian border.Continue reading
The Russian Defense Ministry claims that the Ukrainians used drones to attack an infrastructure that is crucial to the operation of the TurkStream pipeline that bypasses Ukraine, reported Reuters on Monday. This is the gas pipeline through which Hungary currently receives Russian gas.
According to reports, the attack on January 11 was against a compressor station in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia. Fortunately, there were no casualties and everything is back in working order at the site. Russia reported that they destroyed nine Ukrainian drones suspected of carrying out the attack.
The Russians claim that the Ukrainian attack was aimed at cutting off gas supplies to European countries.
The Ukrainian side has so far not commented on the statement made by the Russian Defense Ministry. The TurkStream is a 1,100-kilometer pipeline under the Black Sea through which Russia transports natural gas to Türkiye, and from there to several European countries, including Hungary. The total length of the pipeline is 935 kilometers of subsea section and two parallel branches. According to official figures, the two branches have a capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters per year, reports Index.
Russian gas via TurkStream are delivered to locations including Serbia, Hungary, Romania, Greece, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina pic.twitter.com/xEmeCpTwf9
— Stephen Stapczynski (@SStapczynski) January 13, 2025
Financial Times reported that after Russia announced the attack, gas prices went up by 7.2 percent on Monday, even though the station continued to function as normal.
Reacting to the incident, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó emphasized that the TurkStream pipeline is essential for the supply of natural gas to Hungary and Central Europe. “We expect the security and operability of this transport route to be respected by all,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Monday. Szijjártó added that this transport route has been functioning reliably for years, and that both the transport companies and transit countries respect their contractual obligations and behave in a reliable manner.
He stated that
the security of energy supply is a sovereignty issue, so any action that threatens the security of our energy supply must be seen as an attack on sovereignty.
It is also important to note that TurkStream’s regional importance has now increased greatly after the half of Russian gas transit through Ukraine from January 1. As Nord Stream 1, 2, and the other pipelines – with the exception of the TurkStream – have been slowly phased out between Russia and Europe since 2022, Hungary’s role has been significantly enhanced. Today, only the TurkStream can transport gas from Russia, which happens to enter the European Union through the Hungarian-Serbian border.
Via Reuters, Financial Times, Index; Featured photo via Pexels