Russian gas supplies to European Union states via Ukraine have been halted, shutting down Moscow’s oldest gas route to the continent.
The five-year gas transit deal between Russia and Ukraine ended in the early hours of 1 January. The move was expected after Kyiv repeatedly said it would not extend the agreement amid the ongoing war.
“We stopped the transit of Russian gas,” Ukraine’s energy minister German Galushchenko said in a statement.
“This is a historic event. Russia is losing its markets, it will suffer financial losses. Europe has already made the decision to abandon Russian gas.”
Russian gas giant Gazprom is expected to lose close to $5bn (£3.9bn) in gas sales due to the stoppage.
However, the country still exports gas via the TurkStream pipeline in the Black Sea. TurkStream has two lines – one for the Turkish domestic market and the other supplying central European customers including Hungary and Serbia.
Image: Russian gas producer Gazprom will face huge losses. Pic: Reuters
The EU redoubled its efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy by seeking alternative sources after Russia’s invasion in 2022.
More on Russia
Related Topics:
The European Commission said on Wednesday the bloc was prepared for the stoppage, and gas infrastructure was “flexible enough to provide gas of non-Russian origin to central and eastern Europe via alternative routes”.
Remaining buyers of Russian gas including Slovakia said it would continue to supply customers using pipelines from Germany and Hungary, but would face additional costs in doing so.
While the Austrian energy minister said the country had done its homework and was “well prepared for this scenario”.
Despite the preparation, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said the transition will have a “drastic” impact on the EU and nothing on Russia.
Spreaker This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once
👉Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim on your podcast app👈
One of the worst affected countries is Moldova, which is not part of the EU and was once part of the Soviet Union.
The country said on Wednesday it will need to introduce measures to reduce its gas use by a third while the breakaway region of Transnistria – which is pro-Russian – said it has cut heating and hot water to households, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.
Read more from Sky News:What can we expect in 2025?Russia’s ‘hybrid attacks’ against NATO ‘look like war’
The end of the deal will also prove costly to Ukraine. The country faces the loss of some $800m (£637m) a year in energy transit fees from Russia.
Source : Sky News
