Kiev's Kursk Gas Hub Gambit Brainchild of 'Same People' Who Blew Up Nord Stream

There are two keyreasons behind the Kiev regime’s brazen incursion into Russia’s Kursk region and attempts to shell and capture the Sudzha gas metering station, Slovakian MEP Milan Uhrik has told Sputnik.

“The first reason is the proximity of the region and the Ukrainian regime’s need to show its Western sponsors some successes on the battlefield,” Uhrik, leader of the Republika Movement, explained.

“The second goal is to destabilize countries that buy cheap raw materials from Russia and at the same time do not want to supply weapons to the conflict,” the politician suggested, referring to Slovakia and Hungary, whose respective leaderships have steadily opposed the transfer of arms to Kiev, and continued to purchase Russian oil and gas supplies transiting through Ukraine to ensure their energy security.

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“The second idea did not have to be born in the minds of representatives of the Ukrainian regime. I think it was invented by the same people…behind the destruction of the Nord Stream II gas pipeline,” Uhrik emphasized, referring to the September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage attack – which damaged three of the network’s four lines and stripped Central Europe of a key source of reliable and cheap Russian energy. In an explosive expose in 2023 based on testimony from a reliable source, veteran US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed that Nord Stream was sabotaged by US Navy divers in coordination with the Norwegian Navy under the cover of Baltic Sea drills.

Russia's Gazprom pumped nearly 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas via the pipeline running through Sudzha in Kursk region west through Ukraine in 2023, accounting for roughly 4.5% of the EU’s total gas consumption. The route serves Slovakia, Hungary, Austria and Italy, with three former nations landlocked and finding it impossible to meet the European Union's directives for weaning themselves off Russian energy supplies.

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The attack on Kursk region is Kiev's second energy-related provocation targeting Slovakia and Hungary in recent weeks.

In July, Bratislava and Budapest got into a diplomatic flap with Kiev after the latter blocked the transit of oil supplies via Ukraine being delivered by Russian oil giant Lukoil. Slovakia and Hungary appealed to Brussels for support, but didn't get it, prompting Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto to accuse the European Union of "coordinating" Kiev's actions. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson charged the US "deep state" with trying to drive the EU into "total dependence on US energy resources" by cutting off access to Russian supplies.

“A sovereign government would use all its diplomatic weight to ensure that its energy security is not compromised. A sovereign government would not support such a regime that works directly against its interests and the interests of its citizens. We will see which government will have the courage to act sovereignly,” Uhrik said, when asked what kind of reaction he expects from Slovakia and Hungary’s authorities.

The Ukrainian military began a large-scale surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region on August 6, sending as many as 10,000 troops and 600 armored vehicles into the area, sparking off fierce battles with Russian forces. Russia redeployed large-scale reserves in the area to fend off and contain the attacks, evacuating civilians and engaging in the large-scale bombing and shelling of Ukrainian positions using aircraft and artillery.

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Kiev's Kursk Gas Hub Gambit Brainchild of 'Same People' Who Blew Up Nord Stream - Slovak Politician