Capture of Sudzha could halt Russian gas supplies to Europe
Russian military bloggers report that Ukrainian forces have captured Sudzha in the Kursk region. There is no official confirmation of this information from either the Russian or Ukrainian sides. However, if this information proves to be true, it would mean the end of Russian gas supplies to Europe.
Sudzha, in the Kursk region near the border with the Sumy region in Ukraine, is a small town with a few thousand inhabitants. However, it is strategically important from Russia's point of view due to the presence of a Gazprom gas measuring station and pumping station there. Currently, it is the only station through which gas is pumped from Russia to Europe.
Currently, few countries utilise the gas pumped through this route to Europe; these include Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Moldova. Ukraine has already announced that the agreement on the flow of gas through its territory will end in December 2024. However, it appears that gas supplies to European countries may stop arriving earlier.
According to reports from Russian military bloggers, Ukrainian units have seized this small town located a few miles from the border. There is no official confirmation of this information from either the Russian or Ukrainian sides.
Tension in Russia: Putin calls for meetings
Russian media, and even the highest Russian authorities, with Putin at the helm, are very concerned about the situation in the Kursk region.
"I will start with the events in the Kursk region. As is known, the Kyiv regime has undertaken another large-scale provocation, massively shelling civilian buildings, residential houses, and ambulances with various types of weapons, including missiles," said Putin at a meeting with the Russian government.
He announced that he would discuss the situation in this region with the heads of law enforcement and military structures on Wednesday, and appealed for assistance to the residents and authorities of this region. A segment of Putin's speech was shown by the RIA Novosti agency.
The spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, stated that "the barbaric attack by Kyiv in the Kursk region was an attempt to sow panic and show an illusion of activity amid the continuous failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," reported the same agency.
"Moscow calls on the international community not to stand idly by and to strongly condemn the criminal actions of the Kyiv regime," said the spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry.
In the Kursk region, which borders the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, fighting with Ukrainian units that have entered Russian territory has been ongoing since Tuesday, according to Russian sources. Bloggers associated with the Ministry of Defence in Moscow claim that up to 400 Ukrainian soldiers have entered the region, and around 2,000 are near the border.
