Russia halts gas exports to Europe through Ukraine
Russian energy giant Gazprom announced the suspension of gas exports to Europe via Ukraine from 8:00 AM Moscow time (6:00 AM Polish time) on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. The decision comes after the expiration of a five-year transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Gazprom stated in a press release that, “due to Ukraine’s repeated refusal to renew the agreement, the company has been deprived of the technical and legal capacity to continue gas transit through Ukrainian territory.”
Ukraine’s Position Ukraine confirmed the suspension of transit, citing national security concerns. “This is a historic event,” said Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky added that the decision aims to prevent Russia from profiting from gas transit, which is used to finance the war.
Despite the suspension of transit by Ukraine, Russia continues to export gas via the Turkish Stream pipeline, which runs under the Black Sea.
Impact on Slovakia and EU Response The suspension of deliveries may affect Slovakia, which previously relied on gas transported via Ukraine. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened Ukraine on Friday with cutting off electricity supplies if Kyiv maintains its decision to halt transit after the New Year.
Poland has declared its readiness to increase electricity exports to Ukraine if Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico carries out his threat and cuts power supplies to Ukraine, according to a high-ranking Polish official cited by Bloomberg last week.
Since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the European Union has been working to reduce its dependency on Russian energy resources by developing alternative energy sources and diversifying supplies.
Source: PAP