Russian Lawmaker: Ukraine Attack on Blue Stream Station Aimed to Disrupt Gas Supplies

KRASNODAR, July 8. /TASS/. Ukraine's attack on the Krasnodarskaya compressor station of the Blue Stream gas pipeline was intended to disrupt Russian gas supplies, State Duma member representing the Krasnodar Region and Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy Sergey Altukhov told TASS.

"The drone attack on the Krasnodarskaya compressor station was another cynical and deliberate strike on our critical infrastructure. Its goal was obvious - not merely to damage equipment, but to try to disrupt stable Russian gas supplies to Turkey, undermine our country's international commitments, and sow panic among consumers," Altukhov said.

According to the lawmaker, Ukraine continues to escalate the conflict by targeting civilian infrastructure. "The goal is to buy time in an attempt to strengthen its negotiating position. These actions can only be viewed as acts of terrorism," he added.

Gazprom earlier said it was repairing damage caused by the July 7 Ukrainian attack on the Krasnodarskaya compressor station of the Blue Stream gas pipeline. The company noted that gas supplies to Turkey had not been disrupted.

Russia supplies gas to Turkey via two pipelines running under the Black Sea. Blue Stream entered service in early 2003, has a design capacity of 16 bln cubic meters per year, and a total length of 1,213 km. The TurkStream export pipeline consists of two strings, one supplying gas to Turkish consumers and the other delivering gas to countries in Southern and Southeastern Europe. TurkStream has a combined capacity of 31.5 bln cubic meters per year and began operations in January 2020.