Gas transit: Ukraine stops gas transit from Russia

Almost three years after the start of the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine has stopped the transit of Russian gas to Europe. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wrote in online networks on New Year’s Day that this step was “one of Moscow’s biggest defeats.” For its part, the Russian Gazprom group said that since morning no more Russian gas would be delivered for transit through Ukraine. Slovakia, which is particularly affected by the stop in the EU, warned of “drastic consequences”, while the government in Moldova, which borders Ukraine, spoke of a “difficult situation”.

Since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian gas had been delivered to Europe via pipelines in Ukraine, with Moscow earning revenue from the gas and Kiev earning revenue from transit fees. The last transit contract expired on December 31st at midnight because Ukraine had not renewed it.

“We have blocked the transit of Russian gas, this is a historic event,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko announced on Wednesday morning. As a result, Russia loses markets and suffers financial losses.

President Zelensky pointed out that the transit stop coincided with the 25th anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s assumption of the Russian presidency. At the beginning of 2000, Russia was pumping “more than 130 billion cubic meters of gas through Ukraine every year,” Zelensky wrote in online networks, adding: “Today the transit volume of Russian gas is zero. This is one of Moscow’s biggest defeats. “

Gazprom said that after the contract expires, Russia no longer has any legal or technical options to continue sending gas through Ukraine.

According to Halushchenko, Ukraine had informed “its international partners” about the cessation of transit, which had been planned for months. Slovakia and partly also Hungary are particularly affected.

Russian gas accounted for less than ten percent of EU member states’ gas imports in 2023 – in 2021 it was over 40 percent. However, some EU countries remain heavily dependent on Russian gas for geographical or political reasons. In recent weeks, Slovakia and Hungary have complained that their Russian gas supply will be turned off at the turn of the year.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday that stopping gas transit through Ukraine would have “drastic effects on all of us in the EU, but not on Russia.” Poland, which has stopped importing gas from Russia, welcomed Ukraine’s actions. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski spoke of “another victory” after Finland and Sweden joined NATO.

According to government information, the stop to gas transit is already having significant consequences in Moldova, which borders Ukraine. The Transnistria region, which has been breakaway for decades and controlled by pro-Russian forces, is in a “difficult situation,” said government spokesman Daniel Voda on the Telegram online service. The local energy supplier Tiraspoltransgaz interrupted the supply of gas and heating, and several towns and state institutions were affected.

Countries like Hungary and Austria also still receive pipeline gas from Russia. However, Hungary is only partially affected by the end of gas transit via Ukraine because it receives the majority of its supplies from Russia via the Turkstream pipeline through the Black Sea and Turkey.

Until recently, Austria also purchased a lot of gas from Russia. Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler now explained that the country was “well prepared” for the delivery stop. The gas storage facilities are well filled and Austria can also import additional gas via Germany and Italy.

Brussels had also made it clear in advance that security of supply in the EU was secured. The EU Commission said on Tuesday that it had been “specifically preparing” for the delivery stop for more than a year.

Kiev had announced long in advance that it would not extend the five-year contract concluded in 2019 between Gazprom and the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz. President Zelensky justified this with the intention of depriving Russia of income to finance the war.

In his New Year’s speech, Zelensky announced that his country would do “everything” in the new year to end the Russian war of aggression. “We know that peace is not given to us, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war,” said the Ukrainian president.

According to Ukrainian reports, at least two people were killed and six others injured in a Russian drone attack on the center of Kiev on New Year’s Eve. The Ukrainian Air Force said a total of 111 Russian drones were fired into Ukrainian territory during the night.