Ukraine’s advance into Russia may be entering a new phase after Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian forces now control the city of Sudzha, the largest city in the Kursk region, located 10 kilometers within Russian territory.

Suddenly, this becomes significant because Sudzha is a critical transit point for natural gas flowing from Western Siberia to Europe via Ukraine.

Last year, 3% of Europe’s total 15% Russian gas imports passed through Sudzha.

However, as noted by the Associated Press, Europe remains on a razor’s edge regarding its energy reserves, being primarily an energy importer. Recently, it experienced a surge in inflation due to high energy prices.

Countries like Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary, which rely heavily on gas from Sudzha, would need to seek alternative energy sources if disruptions occur.

Andrei Fedorov, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, explained the strategic importance of Sudzha on Russian state television: “Smart people in Kyiv calculated that they need to capture this hub so that the Russian army would be forced to destroy it to reclaim it. This means that gas deliveries to Europe would halt because of Russia’s actions, not Ukraine’s.”

The European Union has a plan to fully end the import of Russian fossil fuels by 2027, but progress is slow. Austria increased its imports of Russian gas from 80% to 98% over the past two years, while Italy, which reduced direct imports, still receives Russian-origin gas through Austria.

Europe also continues to import liquefied natural gas (LNG), which made up 6% of imports last year. Trade data shows that shipments of LNG to France more than doubled in the first half of this year. Meanwhile, EU members Romania and Hungary have signed gas agreements with Turkey, which imports gas from Russia.

Kremlin Blames U.S. and the West for Involvement in Kursk Attack

In a related development, Kremlin advisor Nikolai Patrushev claimed today that the U.S.-led military alliance and the West were directly involved in planning Ukraine’s attack on Russia’s Kursk region.

In an interview with Izvestia, Patrushev argued that U.S. claims of non-involvement in the attack are false. “The operation in the Kursk region was also planned with the involvement of NATO and Western intelligence agencies,” he stated.

“The statements from U.S. leadership that they are not involved in Kyiv’s crimes in the Kursk region are untrue… Without their participation and direct support, Kyiv would not have dared to venture onto Russian territory.”

The White House, however, maintains that Ukraine did not inform them in advance about the raid and that Washington had no involvement in the operation.