Kyiv and Moscow plan to continue transmitting gas to Europe despite Ukraine's incursion in Kursk Oblast near a key cross-border transit point for the fuel, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 12, citing its undisclosed sources.
Ukrainian forces reportedly entered on Aug. 9 the town of Sudzha in Kursk Oblast, where a gas-intake station is located, which transfers gas from Russia to Ukraine and then to Europe.
The Ukrainian military launched a surprise incursion across the border into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6, bringing regular Ukrainian forces into Russia for the first time.
Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported that Ukrainian forces control around 1,000 square kilometers in Kursk Oblast. The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify this claim.
The cross-border point has been under the control of Ukrainian troops following the incursion, two undisclosed sources told the media outlet.
Any accidental damage to the facility could lead to halting supplies, another undisclosed source said.
Russian gas giant Gazprom continues to supply gas through Sudzha, with daily flows stable within a range of 37 million cubic meters to around 42 million cubic meters, according to the Russian company's calculations.
On Aug. 13, flows were back to a level seen last week, a day before the first reports of Ukraine taking control over the intake point appeared. Gas shipments via Sudzha are set at 42.4 million cubic meters, according to Gazprom's statement.
The Kursk region lies on the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which has been experiencing daily attacks since Russian troops were pushed out of the oblast and back across the border in April 2022.
Russian authorities have been forced to announce widening civilian evacuation measures in a number of districts bordering Ukraine.
Ukraine's head of state, Volodymyr Zelensky, described the operation as a "catastrophe" for Russia's president Vladimir Putin.
Elsa Court
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