- Sputnik International, 1920
Analysis
Enjoy in-depth, acute analysis of the most pressing local, regional and global trends at Sputnik!

Ukraine’s Black Sea Energy Terrorism Threatens Its Own NATO ‘Partners’

© Photo : TurkStreamDrone footage of the backside of the Pioneering Spirit vessel
Drone footage of the backside of the Pioneering Spirit vessel - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.07.2026
Subscribe
The timing of the Ukrainian drone attack on the Krasnodarskaya compressor station of the Turkiye-bound Blue Stream gas pipeline on July 7, the same day Zelensky arrived in Ankara for the NATO summit, is “very intriguing,” prolific global energy expert Dr. Mamdouh Salameh told Sputnik.
Salameh could think of multiple reasons for a ramp up of Ukrainian attacks on Blue Stream and TurkStream infrastructure – which ships vast quantities of gas to both Turkiye and Southern Europe:
a US-backed attempt to frustrate the success of Russia’s evasion of Western energy sanctions
an attempt by Kiev to pressure Ankara into reviving its mediation efforts
a short-sighted, suicidal plot by Brussels “to emphasize its plans to stop all Russian gas imports starting January 2027,” despite the harm a shutdown of Russian Turkiye-bound pipelines would have on Europe as the global gas market tightens and prices surge
The tanker Sun Arrows loads its cargo of liquefied natural gas from the Sakhalin-2 project in the port of Prigorodnoye, Russia, on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 03.07.2026
World
Russia Still Ranks Among Top EU Gas Suppliers Despite Pipeline Upset
Ankara-based security and political analyst Dr. Hasan Selim Ozertem says such attacks’ threat to the energy security of the entire region – from Turkiye and Greece to Bulgaria, the Balkans and Hungary, cannot be overstated.
“The pumped gas per annum is around 16 bcm to Eastern European countries. Any disruption here will definitely affect these countries because the gas received from Russia via TurkStream is the main supply of gas. Because after Ukraine’s transit role was suspended, TurkStream became the main pipeline feeding the Eastern European market.”
As for the cause, Ozertem can’t rule that Ukraine blindly targeted the Turkiye-bound gas pipeline infrastructure against the background of broader attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
Other possibilities include some sort of provocation, or a Ukrainian government which “does not have full control” over its own troops, according to the analyst.
Some fragments of a fallen Anglo-French Storm Shadow missile. - Sputnik International, 1920, 07.07.2026
Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine
Britain’s Not-So-Hidden Hand in Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure Attacks on Russia
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала