Ukraine cuts off supplies of Russian natural gas to Europe through its territory

Early this Wednesday, January 1, Ukraine stopped the transportation of Russian natural gas through its territory, as it had warned it would do in recent days, according to information provided by the Ukrainian gas operator.

“At 7 a.m. kyiv time on January 1, 2025, the Agreement on Interaction between GTSOU and Gazprom for physical interconnection points between the gas transportation systems of Ukraine and Russia, dated January 30, expired. December 2019,” says the operator’s statement.

“Accordingly, the transportation of natural gas from the Sudzha entry point on the eastern border of Ukraine to the exit points on the western and southern borders was terminated. The Ukrainian GTS Operator informed its international partners in accordance with the established procedure,” the statement says.

Thus, since January 1, the Ukrainian gas transportation system has been operating in mode without Russian gas transit.

“The Ukrainian operator GTS has prepared in advance the infrastructure to operate in zero transit mode and ensure reliable gas supply to Ukrainian consumers. The company’s team is ready to work in the new conditions,” said Dmytro Lypa, Director GTSOU General.

The new conditions, according to Lypa, concern ensuring the possibility of gas supply both to Ukraine and through Ukraine to European consumers.

The Russian gas giant Gazprom confirmed today the cessation of gas supplies through Ukraine after the contracts for its transit through the Ukrainian gas pipeline system to Europe expired.

“Due to the repeated and clearly expressed refusal of the Ukrainian side to renew these agreements, Gazprom is deprived of the technical and legal ability to supply gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine from January 1, 2025,” it said. states in the consortium statement.

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 today.

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 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 Moldovan separatist 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.