Gas blaze disrupts Sudzha: Key energy link in jeopardy
A massive fire broke out in the Kursk region on the night of March 20. According to local media reports, Russia's Sudzha gas measurement station was damaged.
Local media described a large column of fire on the border of Russia's Kursk and Ukraine's Sumy regions. According to the RosZMI portal, the Sudzha gas transmission system, which transported Russian gas to Europe, was attacked.
The Russians claim that earlier, the Sudzha air defense system was damaged due to a Ukrainian attack.
Russian authorities have not yet provided any official information about the causes or consequences of the massive fire in the Kursk region.
The Sudzha gas station: What is known?
The Sudzha gas station, located in Russia's Kursk region, is a key transfer point for the transmission of natural gas to Europe. It is situated on the border with Ukraine and is one of the main entry points for Russian gas into the Ukrainian transit system.
For many years, Sudzha played a strategic role in supplying raw materials to European countries, especially before the creation of alternative transmission routes like Nord Stream. This station is managed by Gazprom and can typically transmit tens of billions of cubic metres of gas annually.
In a geopolitical context, Sudzha is often mentioned in discussions about Europe's energy security. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the imposition of sanctions against Russia, the significance of this station diminished, and the transit of gas through Ukraine became a subject of political tension.
In 2023, Sudzha was one of the few points through which Russian gas still reached Europe, but in much smaller quantities than before the conflict.
