MOSCOW – Russia must step up counterterrorism efforts amid threats to its Black Sea natural gas pipelines, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting of the board of the Federal Security Service, Putin said Russia’s enemies had failed to inflict a strategic defeat on the battlefield, and were banking on terrorist attacks targeting cities, infrastructure and government officials.
He noted that the enemies were making plans to carry out terrorist attacks against natural gas pipelines in the Black Sea, including TurkStream and Blue Stream, in an attempt to undermine diplomatic negotiations on the Ukraine crisis.
Putin said Russia must intensify counterterrorism efforts, strengthen protection for energy and transport infrastructure as well as venues with large public gatherings, protect critical facilities, and install additional protective equipment if necessary.
TurkStream and Blue Stream are the main underwater gas pipelines that deliver Russian natural gas directly to Turkiye, bypassing transit routes through Ukraine.
Seven dead in Ukrainian attack on Smolensk
Separately, seven people were killed and 10 others injured in an attack by Ukrainian armed forces on a fertilizer plant in Russia’s Smolensk region on Wednesday.
“The civilian facility of PJSC Dorogobuzh came under attack,” regional governor Vasily Anokhin said on his social media channel. “All the wounded have been taken to a medical facility.”
PJSC Dorogobuzh specializes in the production of nitrogen fertilizers and chemical products.
Anokhin said rescue teams are working at the scene and have contained the fires.
“The Smolensk regional government will provide all necessary assistance to the families of the injured and the deceased. Specialists will be deployed to assess the damage,” he said.
Schools in the region have switched to online teaching. Kindergarten classes have been suspended.