The Central Asia-Centre gas pipeline system has been taken out of service following explosions in Russia’s Volgograd region on 2 August, Ukrainian media hromadske reported, citing a source in law enforcement structures.
The pipeline system, owned by Gazprom, transports natural gas from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to Russia.
Local residents report that law enforcement agencies and repair crews are present in the area of Dinamovskoye village in the Nekhayevsky district of Volgograd Oblast to eliminate the consequences of the explosion, according to the source.
This pipeline reportedly provides energy to such objects of Russia’s military-industrial complex as Demikhovsky Machine-Building Plant, Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG (production complex No. 1), ammunition manufacturing plant Magnum-K and others.
These complexes are key components of Russia’s military-industrial complex, with the pipeline supplying them reported to provide energy to support their operations.
Representatives of the Russian gas transportation company that supplies the Russian army are currently calculating damages, the report said. Gas transportation through the Central Asia-Centre main pipeline in Volgograd Oblast has been suspended indefinitely.
The report doesn’t specify whether the explosions were caused by a drone attack.
Russian Telegram channels reported explosions and fires at industrial facilities across multiple oblasts during overnight drone attacks on 2 August, with air defense systems activated in several areas.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) confirmed strikes on two targets: a military airfield storing Iranian-made Shahed drones in Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Oblast, and the Elektroprilad plant in Penza. The Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff confirmed the Penza strike.
The Elektroprilad facility produces military equipment including gear for digital networks in command systems, aviation devices, armored vehicles, ships, and spacecraft, the SBU кузщкеув.