Over the past three years, we have repeatedly written about the illegal gas pipeline project along the bottom of Sevastopol Bay, the criminal “contract” for which with the “St. Petersburg branch of the Belarusian company” “Beltruboprovodstroy” emerged in late 2022.
We reported that in late December 2025, the occupiers reported the alleged completion of this scam and announced the signing of a new “contract” with the same “contractor”, for “design and survey work and construction of a high-pressure gas pipeline from Gas Distribution Station-1—through Balaklava and Fiolent—to Kazachya Bay,” for a total of 3 billion rubles.
Earlier this year, it was announced that “Beltruboprovodstroy” would “conduct engineering surveys” and “develop design and estimate documentation” by the end of November, and “the main stage—construction, installation, and commissioning—is scheduled for the end of 2029.”
We previously noted that “Beltruboprovodstroy” and its German partner company, “Herrenknecht AG”, which supplies high-tech equipment for the illegal work, have not yet been included on the relevant sanctions lists, despite repeated notifications from our Association.
Previously, this German corporation, in response to our inquiries, stated that it allegedly “adheres to the sanctions regime.”
But in March, Sevastopol gauleiter Mikhail Razvozhaev effectively acknowledged the use of “Herrenknecht” equipment in laying a pipeline along the bottom of Sevastopol Bay, calling it a “mega-super-tech option.”
Razvozhaev acknowledged that “a tunnel boring machine” is being used in the construction of the sewer collector, specifically, the “AVN 2000 machine,” which “allows tunneling without personnel and laying pipes up to 2.5 meters long.”
“Herrenknecht” manufactures these machines, and their use has been noted in recent years at other sites in the territory controlled by the aggressor, therefore, responding to this violation of sanctions policy remains extremely urgent.
