After two weeks of fighting, Ukraine claims to have taken control of 1,250 square kilometers of Kursk Oblast in Russia, as well as a gas terminal that is strategically important for Europe.
The town of Sudzha, just ten kilometres from the Ukrainian border, became a focal point of the Ukrainian offensive and is now the seat of a newly established Ukrainian military administration.
The once quiet road from Sudzha to Sumy was bustling with activity on Monday when Euractiv visited the area. Ukrainian tanks under camouflage nets, American armored vehicles and numerous pickup trucks bearing the operation’s symbol, a white triangle, raced to and from Russia. On one of the vehicles returning from the border, the triangle replaced the dreaded Russian Z on two captured vehicles. “recovered” from the Russians.
“It is easier to work here because it is very, very well organised and we finally have enough of everything,” Petro, a logistician with an assault brigade, told Euractiv on his way back from the border. The village where he made a pit stop, about 15 kilometers from the border, is now beyond the range of artillery attacks as Ukrainians advance deeper into mainland Russia.
About 30 minutes’ drive from there lies the small Russian village of Susdha, which is of strategic importance for Europe as it is the only access point for Russian gas into Ukraine before it reaches European customers.
Despite the EU’s restrictive measures to limit energy flows from Russia, EU countries Slovakia, Hungary and Austria still depend on Russian gas from the Sudzha pipeline. They are the main recipients, but Italy and Croatia also receive a certain share of the gas.
The last gas metering station of the Russian Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline outside Ukrainian territory fell under Kyiv’s control on August 7.
Ukrainian military experts speculate that the site could serve as protection for Ukrainian troops and equipment from Russian drones and glide bombs.
Another transit route from Rostov via Sochranivka in the Luhansk region to the EU territory has been blocked by Kyiv since May 11, 2022. The Ukrainian transmission system operator then stated that it could no longer operate the transit pipelines because they ran through occupied territory.
The Sudzha gas metering station is part of a pipeline system that was originally brotherhoodwhich the Soviets built in the 1980s, when no one expected a war between Moscow and Kiev. The facility has so far made it possible to register the delivery and receipt of gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine to European consumers.
However, it remains unclear whether Ukraine controls the nearby gas compressor on Russian territory, which could disrupt gas transit. Neither the Ukrainian gas operator nor the Ukrainian Energy Ministry responded to Euractiv’s requests for comment.
In 2023, the volume of Russian gas transit through Ukraine averaged 42-42.4 million cubic meters per dayabout half of Russia’s natural gas exports. On August 8, the Ukrainian gas operator confirmed to the energy consulting company ExPro that the amount had fallen to 37.25 million cubic meters. According to Gazprom reached 42.4 million cubic meters again on August 15.
A request to pump oil through Sohranivka was “rejected” by the Ukrainian side, a Gazprom representative told reporters from the Russian state news agency. TASS on August 12th.
For comparison: The TurkStream pipeline, which connects Russia with Southeast Europe, transported In July, the average was 45.5 million cubic metres of gas per day.
Although gas prices briefly spiked due to possible disruptions in Sudzha, the impact of the Ukrainian incursion appears to be limited.
“The main risk is of a military nature,” Serhiy Makogon, former head of Ukraine’s gas transmission system operator, told Ukrainian media. NV.
Five major gas pipelines run through the Sudzha region and cross the entire region.
“If Russia starts using heavy artillery and air strikes, the risk of technical damage to the infrastructure is very high,” he said, assuring that Ukrainian operations had not damaged the Sudzha gas measuring station and that it was still operating.
“I would like to note that our armed forces operated there without the use of heavy weapons. The gas measuring station in Sudzha was not damaged and remains operational,” he added.
He also pointed out that problems in obtaining real-time information on the amount of gas flowing through this station on a daily basis could pose commercial risks.
In addition, the contract with Gazprom expires at the end of 2024, and neither Ukraine nor Europe want to extend it, although they are discussing alternative options for loading the gas transmission network (for example, with Azerbaijani gas).
“If Ukraine had wanted to, it would have terminated this treaty long ago, but Kyiv did not do so at the request of the European Union,” Volodymyr Omelchenko, director of energy programs at the Ukraine-based Razumkov Center think tank, told Euractiv.
Kyiv earns just over a billion dollars a year from the transit of Russian gas – these funds are just enough to keep the gas transportation system in normal operating condition.
“Russia is keen to maintain its presence in the European gas market and exert political pressure on the countries of Eastern Europe,” said Makogon, who headed the state operator from 2019 to 2022.
Omelchenko stressed that transit remains crucial for Russia.
Even though fewer and fewer countries are importing Russian gas, it still generates around 6 billion euros every year.
(Edited by Alexandra Brzozowski/Daniel Eck)
