ASTANA, October 13. /TASS/. Several saboteurs who plotted to carry out an act of sabotage against the TurkStream gas pipeline have been detained and taken into custody, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

"They tried to attack the TurkStream, too. The saboteurs were caught, several people were arrested as they sought to blow up our [facility] on our territory," he said.

Peskov stressed that "this is an attempt on a route that remains in a functional state, fully loaded, running like clockwork."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with members of the national Security Council on Monday that in response to the Ukrainian authorities’ actions, a massive strike involving long-range high-precision weapons had been carried out on Ukraine’s military, energy and communication sites. According to the head of state, Kiev has long been using terrorist methods, including an attempt to blow up a segment of the TurkStream gas pipeline, strikes on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and three terrorist attacks on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced on Wednesday that security measures had been tightened on the TurkStream pipeline following incidents on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.