Ukrainian capture of Sudzha threatens Europe's gas supply

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 side. However, if this information proves true, it will signify the end of pumping Russian gas to Europe.

Sudzha, located in the Kursk region near the border with the Sumy region in Ukraine, is a small town with a few thousand residents. Despite its size, it is strategically important for Russia. There is a Gazprom measurement station and gas pump station, currently the only ones through which gas is pumped from Russia to Europe.

Currently, few countries are using gas pumped this way to Europe: among them are Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Moldova. Ukraine had earlier announced that the gas transit agreement through its territory would end in December 2024. However, everything indicates that gas will stop reaching European countries earlier.

According to reports from Russian military bloggers, Ukrainian units have taken over this small town, located a few miles from the border.

There is no official confirmation of this information from either the Russian or Ukrainian side.

Russian media, and even the highest Russian authorities, led by Putin, are very concerned about the situation in the Kursk region.

"I'll start with the events in the Kursk region. As we know, the Kyiv regime has carried out another large-scale provocation, massively shelling civilian buildings, residential houses, and ambulances with various types of weapons, including rockets," Putin stated during a meeting with the Russian government.

He announced that he would discuss the situation in the region with the heads of law enforcement and military structures on Wednesday and called for assistance to be provided to the residents and authorities of the region. A segment of Putin's speech was shown by the RIA Novosti agency.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that "the barbaric attack by Kyiv in the Kursk region was an attempt to sow panic and show a semblance of activity amid the continuous failures of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the same agency wrote.

"Moscow calls on the international community not to stand by and to firmly condemn the criminal actions of the Kyiv regime," the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

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 Defense in Moscow claim that up to 400 Ukrainian soldiers have entered the region, and about 2,000 are near the border.