Gazprom Claims Ukrainian Drones Attacked TurkStream Pipeline

On April 2, 2023, Russian state gas giant Gazprom announced that three Ukrainian drones allegedly attacked a compressor station servicing the TurkStream export pipeline. This compressor station, known as the Russian Compressor Station, is located in the Krasnodar region, near the Black Sea coast. According to Gazprom, the station remained unharmed as all drones were shot down before they could inflict damage.

This news comes amid increasing pressure on energy supplies caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran, leading to rising oil and gas prices. If the information about the attack is confirmed, it would mark a new phase in Ukraine's campaign against Russian oil export facilities, following successful long-range drone strikes on the country’s two largest oil terminals in the Baltic Sea—Primorsk and Ust-Luga.

This is not the first time Russia has made such claims. Throughout March, Russia reported several attempts of Ukrainian attacks on the TurkStream and Blue Stream pipelines. However, Ukraine has yet to respond to these accusations, and the Kyiv Independent editorial team was unable to independently verify this information.

The TurkStream pipelines, which opened in 2020, transport Russian natural gas through two parallel pipes—one heading directly to Turkey and the other through Turkey to the Balkans and Central Europe. Before the gas is sent under the Black Sea to Turkey, it is compressed at the Russian Compressor Station, making this facility crucial for the operation of the pipeline.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the TurkStream pipeline has become the last functioning Russian pipeline still supplying gas to Europe. This occurred after the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea were destroyed and the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Poland ceased operations in 2022. Transit through Ukraine was suspended indefinitely in 2025.