Gazprom denies Sudzha gas metering station destroyed in Ukraine’s Kursk incursion. null

The Sudzha gas metering station. Photo: EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

The Sudzha gas metering station, which was reportedly captured by Ukrainian forces on Wednesday as their incursion into Russia’s southwestern Kursk region got underway, appears to have been destroyed according to satellite footage published by Radio Liberty on Monday.

While Russian energy giant Gazprom, which owns the plant, has insisted that the Sudzha station continues to operate normally, satellite images indicate otherwise, with damage to the facility visibly spreading in a series of photographs taken between Friday and Sunday. Indeed, by Sunday an administrative building and measuring equipment for the station looked to have been almost completely destroyed.

The gas metering station, which measures the amount of natural gas entering and exiting the pipeline as well as regulating its quality, is the only operational route through which Russian gas exports can currently be delivered to Europe.

Last week, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into Russian territory, where the station is located, causing consternation in Moscow and leading many locals to flee the area.

Nevertheless, Gazprom representative Sergey Kupriyanov maintained on Monday that the Suzha station had continued to handle 39.6 million cubic metres of gas per day, a regular daily amount for the station.

Kupriyanov also said on Friday that “the events in the Sudzha area led to a sharp increase in prices for both natural gas and liquified natural gas” but made no reference to whether the conflict in the region had interrupted the station’s normal operation.

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