The Russian Federal Security Service (ФСБ) website reported on November 24 that the Russian Federal Security Service thwarted the attempt of Ukrainian special forces to carry out terrorist sabotage operations against the "South Stream" gas pipeline in the Volgograd region, through which Russia sent natural gas to Europe and Turkey.
Screenshot of the notification on the website of the Russian Federal Security Service
It was reported that a number of Russian citizens had been detained for involvement in the preparation of terrorist activities and the provision of resources for that purpose. Law enforcement officers seized 4 magnetic mines, 4 kg of plastic time-lapse fuses, 5.93 million rubles, means of communication with the Ukrainian side, instructions for assembling and installing explosive devices, some funds, and the coordinates of the planned explosion site.
Footage of the arrest and seized materiel, video screenshot from Russia's TASS news agency
In addition, the website of the Russian Federal Security Service also reported on November 23 that the Russian Federal Security Service carried out a series of search activities in the Voronezh region, successfully thwarting an attempt by "members of a Ukrainian nationalist secret group" to sabotage military and energy facilities in the region.
When the FSB tried to arrest the leader of the group and two of his accomplices, it encountered armed resistance, and the FSB returned fire and destroyed it. There were no civilian and law enforcement casualties.
Law enforcement officers searched multiple locations of these terrorists and found and confiscated two ready-to-use improvised explosive devices, as well as related manufacturing components, cold weapons and firearms, ammunition of various calibres and clandestine means of communication. The on-site search and related investigations are still ongoing.
Screenshot of the notification on the website of the Russian Federal Security Service
It is worth noting that the "South Stream" project was originally a pipeline to deliver gas to Bulgaria and the EU through the Black Sea, but after the events in Crimea in 2014, the project had to be abandoned. The project was then rerouted to Turkey, where it became today's "Turkish Stream".
For this matter, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on the same day that in view of the potential threat to the "South Stream" pipeline, Russian and Turkish leaders are considering additional security measures for the pipeline.
In September this year, the "Nord Stream-1" and "Nord Stream-2" pipelines exploded one after another, causing a large amount of natural gas to leak into the nearby sea, and the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline made Europe's energy crisis worse.
After the Nord Stream spill, the United States, the European Union, NATO and Russia all said the explosion was caused by man-made sabotage. On November 18, the Swedish Security Agency issued a statement saying that after a preliminary investigation into the site of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipeline accidents, the results of the investigation indicated that it was a "serious incident of sabotage."