Russia says Ukraine targeted gas pipeline to Türkiye
MOSCOW

Russia on Monday accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on infrastructure of the TurkStream gas pipeline, which carries Russian gas to Europe via Türkiye.
"On Jan. 11, the Kiev regime, in order to cut off gas supplies to European countries, attempted an attack with nine drones," on a gas compressor station in southern Russia that supplies the TurkStream pipeline, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
It said all the drones were shot down, with the falling debris causing "minor damage" to a building and equipment at a gas measuring station.
The site is located in the village of Gai-Kodzor, near Russia's southern coast on the Black Sea and across from the annexed peninsula of Crimea, which has been heavily targeted by Kiev throughout the three-year conflict.
The Defense Ministry said the facility was continuing to work in "normal mode" and there had been no disruptions to supply.
TurkStream, which runs from Russia under the Black Sea to Türkiye and then up through the Balkans, is the last active pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe.
It runs 930 kilometers under the Black Sea and has an annual capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters.
Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas on Jan. 1, which had for decades been the main route for shipping Russian supplies to Europe.
The 27-member EU has been reducing its dependence on Russian gas since Moscow launched its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.
Despite imports of gas via pipeline having fallen, several European countries have increased their purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is transported by sea.
Meanwhile, a South Korean lawmaker said on Monday that around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 wounded while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine citing, information from Seoul's spy agency.
Seoul has previously claimed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent more than 10,000 soldiers as "cannon fodder" to help Moscow fight Kiev, in return for Russian technical assistance for Pyongyang's heavily sanctioned weapons and satellite programs.
"The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia has reportedly expanded to include the Kursk region, with estimates suggesting that casualties among North Korean forces have surpassed 3,000," lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters after a briefing from the spy agency.
This includes "approximately 300 deaths and 2,700 injuries," Lee said, after a briefing from Seoul's National Intelligence Service.
The soldiers, reportedly from North Korea's elite Storm Corps, have been ordered to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, Lee said.
"Notably, memos found on deceased soldiers indicate that the North Korean authorities pressured them to commit suicide or self-detonate before capture," he said.