Turkey Confirms Key Gas Pipeline Was Attacked After Kremlin Accused United States

Moscow has this week made a big and provocative accusation, saying that the United States is seeking to sabotage the last pipeline transporting Russian gas exports into Europe, the TurkStream.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alleged in a Tuesday press briefing that Washington is encouraging “terrorist” attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure. He specifically cited plans to target TurkStream, following a recent large-scale drone attack.

“The US does not tolerate competition in any sphere, including energy. They are recklessly endorsing terrorist activities aimed at undermining the energy stability of the European Union,” Lavrov said as quoted in Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.

“They are encouraging their Ukrainian proxies to disable TurkStream following the sabotage of Nord Stream,” he followed with.

He described that Russia’s anti-air defenses were able to down nine Ukrainian drones during the attack which targeted part of TurkStream’s infrastructure.

On Wednesday regional media quoted Turkey’s top energy official as confirming there was an attempted attack out of Ukraine, but that gas is still flowing uninterrupted:

Following an attempted attack on the TurkStream natural gas pipeline on Jan. 11, Türkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, confirmed the attack took place but assured the public that the incident did not disrupt the gas flow.

Responding to questions from journalists in the Turkish Parliament, Bayraktar stated: “There was no interruption in gas flow after the attack. The pipeline continues to deliver gas at the same capacity.”

Following Ukraine’s refusal to renew a key transit contract with Moscow which expired by close of 2024, the TurkStream pipeline remains the only route carrying Russian gas into the European Union.

Russia’s RT news has summarized the geography and significance of TurkStream as follows:

TurkStream is a critical energy corridor, transporting natural gas from Russia to Türkiye under the Black Sea. It also remains the sole route supplying Russian natural gas to southern and southeastern Europe after Ukraine refused to extend a gas transit agreement with Moscow this year.

In 2024, gas shipments via the pipeline increased by 23%, reaching 16.7 billion cubic meters (bcm). The pipeline comprises two sections: one serving Türkiye’s domestic needs, while the other transits gas to Bulgaria through the Strandzha station. This Balkan route extends through Bulgaria and Serbia to Hungary, with connections facilitating the distribution of Russian gas to other EU states. With a total capacity of 31.5 bcm annually, TurkStream plays a vital role in regional energy security.

As for Lavrov’s initial accusation Tuesday, which Washington rejects, he also stated: “I have a firm belief that the US needs no competitor in any fields, starting with energy.”

We reported earlier that Tuesday saw one of the single biggest cross-border aerial attacks on Russia from Ukraine since the war began. Several fires broke out at numerous industrial sites, including gas sites in remote Tatarstan. 

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

Some of the energy hubs hit were hundreds of miles from the front line. Crucially multiple US-supplied ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles were used.

“Ukraine’s military said Tuesday that it also hit points in Bryansk, Tula and Tatarstan, with a chemical factory that makes rocket fuel and ammunition for Russia’s army among the targets,” reports indicated.