The contract that allowed the supply of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine had remained in force until its expiration despite the war, benefiting both parties economically.
kyiv and Moscow confirmed that the supply of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine permanently ceased on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, following the expiration of a five-year contract signed between both parties at the end of 2019 and not renewed now due to the war. .
Russian gas has been supplied to Europe through gas pipelines passing through Ukraine since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Both countries have been at war since Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24, 2022.
«We have interrupted the transit of Russian gas, it is a historic event. “Russia loses markets and will suffer financial losses,” said Ukrainian Energy Minister Guerman Galushchenko, quoted in a statement.
“Since 08:00 (05:00 GMT), no more Russian gas has been supplied for transit via Ukraine,” the Russian gas giant Gazprom announced in another statement.
The contract that allowed the supply of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine had remained in force until its expiration despite the war, benefiting both parties economically.
Russian gas transit to Europe via Ukraine amounted to 14.65 billion cubic meters in 2023according to official figures.
With the end of transit through Ukraine and more than two years after the sabotage of the Nord Stream tubes in the Baltic Sea, Europe will now only be supplied with Russian gas through the TurkStream gas pipeline and its Balkan Stream extension.
The continent also imports Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in tankers.
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Tension with countries affected by the closure
The cutoff of Russian gas supplies through Ukraine has strained the relationship between this country and some European partners that still depend on this supply, especially with Slovakia, whose Economy Minister declared this Tuesday that her country was prepared for the interruption.
The Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, threatened Kiev with reciprocal measures if the transit of that fuel was truly interrupted, as has happened on January 1.
The Ukrainian gas pipeline system allows the Russian consortium Gazprom to export gas to Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova, a transit contract that allowed kyiv to earn about 700 million dollars annually.
But Ukraine, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in Brussels on the 19th, will not allow Moscow to “earn additional billions” while continuing its aggression against Ukraine.
The cutoff of Russian gas transit through Ukraine considerably affects Moldova, which on the 13th declared an energy emergency for 60 days, since its only thermoelectric plant runs on gas from Russia.
In the separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria the situation is even more serious, as it depends exclusively on Russian gas, while the rest of Moldova can receive supplies from neighboring Romania.
With information from DW, AFP and EFE
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