Ukraine to end transit of Russian gas into Europe
Russian gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine will end on Wednesday after the expiration of a five-year agreement between Ukrainian gas transport operator Naftogaz and Gazprom.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would not allow Russia to “earn additional billions of dollars with our blood” and gave the EU a year to prepare.
The EU has sharply reduced gas imports from Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but some eastern members remain heavily reliant on supplies, which leaves Russia importing around €5bn ($5.2bn; £4.2bn). Year.
The European Commission said the continent’s gas systems are “resilient and flexible” and have sufficient capacity to cope with the end of transit via Ukraine.
In 2023, Russian natural gas will account for less than 10% of EU natural gas imports. According to data from the European Unioncompared with 40% in 2021.
But some EU member states, including Slovakia and Austria, continue to import large quantities of natural gas from Russia.
Austria’s energy regulator said it did not expect any supply disruptions as the country has diversified energy sources and built up reserves.
But Ukraine’s decision has caused serious tensions with Slovakia, which is now the main entry point for Russian gas into the EU and earns transit fees by transporting gas to Austria, Hungary and Italy.
On Friday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico just gave a speech Unexpected visit to Moscow Talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin – Threatening to stop power supplies to Ukraine.
That prompted Zelensky to accuse him of helping Putin “finance the war and weaken Ukraine.”
“Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia’s attempts to bring more suffering to the Ukrainian people,” the Ukrainian president said.
Poland has offered to provide support to Kiev if Slovakia cuts off electricity exports – vital to Ukraine, whose power plants are regularly attacked by Russia.
Moldova is not part of the EU and could be severely affected by the termination of the transit agreement. The natural gas fuels a power plant on which Moldova relies for much of its electricity needs. It also supplies the Russian-backed breakaway region of Transnistria, a sliver of land sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine.
Moldovan Energy Minister Constantin Borosan said the government has taken measures to ensure a stable power supply in the country but called on citizens to conserve energy. Since mid-December, Moldova’s energy sector has been in a 60-day state of emergency.
President Maia Sandu has accused the Kremlin of “blackmail” that could be aimed at destabilizing the country ahead of 2025 elections. The Moldovan government also said it had provided aid to Transnistria.
Russia has been shipping natural gas to Europe through Ukraine since 1991.
As the EU reduces its reliance on Russian gas, it has found alternative sources in liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar and the United States, as well as pipeline gas from Norway.
Once the Ukrainian transit route is cut off, the Black Sea TurkStream reaching Türkiye, Hungary and Serbia will become Russia’s only natural gas supply to European countries.
In December, the European Commission Make a plan It said it would enable EU member states to completely replace gas transiting through Ukraine.
Under the EU’s contingency plan, affected countries will receive Greek, Turkish and Romanian gas from the trans-Balkans route, while Norwegian gas will be transported through Poland. More supplies will also arrive in Central Europe via Germany.
