Summary of Escalating Energy Infrastructure Attacks Between Russia and Ukraine

Moscow and Kyiv are intensifying mutual assaults on each other's energy installations, with a focus on gas and oil facilities. Russian state-controlled Gazprom confirmed that Ukrainian drone attacks targeted the Krasnodarskaya pumping station in southern Russia on Tuesday evening, which is part of the supply chain for the Blue Stream subsea pipeline to Turkey. Gazprom stated that repairs are underway and that prompt measures prevented any disruption to Turkish gas supplies. Blue Stream, with a capacity of 16 billion cubic metres per annum (bcm), delivers all its volumes to Turkey.

This follows a previous Ukrainian attack in March on the Russkaya pumping station, which supplies the larger TurkStream pipeline (capacity 33.5 bcm per annum), though that attack was unsuccessful. TurkStream transits about half its gas through Turkey and Bulgaria to reach Serbia, Hungary, and Slovakia. While Ukrainian military authorities acknowledged overnight attacks on two Russian oil refineries near Saratov and Nizhnekamsk, their statement did not mention the Krasnodarskaya attack.

The March attack on Russkaya prompted a strong response from Hungary, which is wary of potential interruptions to Russian gas supplies. In April, after Peter Magyar was elected as Hungary's new prime minister, replacing the pro-Russia Viktor Orban, Ukraine stopped attacking TurkStream and resumed Russian oil pipeline supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukraine. This week, according to Ukrainian state gas producer Naftogaz, Russia has been attacking gas production sites in Ukraine's Kharkiv, Sumy, and Poltava regions.