Russian natural gas exports via Ukraine to several European countries have been halted after Kyiv refused to renew a transit deal that expired on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.
The shutdown of Russia’s oldest gas route to Europe ends a decade of fraught relations prompted by Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014.
Russian gas has flowed through Ukraine for decades, mainly through a Soviet-built pipeline that begins in Sudzha, a town in Russia’s Kursk region currently under the control of Ukrainian forces, and ends near Uzhhorod, on Ukraine’s western border with Slovakia.
Gas continued to flow based on a 2019 agreement after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, providing revenue for both countries. Kyiv made hundreds of millions of euros a year in transit fees.
Negotiations took place last year to extend the deal but came to nothing.
Ukraine had warned that it would not renew the five-year transit deal amid the ongoing military conflict with Russia.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister, German Galushchenko said in a statement, “We stopped the transit of Russian gas. 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.”
German Galushchenko
Russia’s energy giant, Gazprom said that gas exports to Europe had been halted from 8am Moscow time (05:00 GMT) as the transit deal had expired.
“Due to the repeated and clearly expressed refusal of the Ukrainian side to renew these agreements, Gazprom was deprived of the technical and legal ability to supply gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine from January 1, 2025.”
Gazprom
Ukraine pumps Russian natural gas through its territory to several European countries, including Slovakia, Moldova and Hungary.
There were some swift effects of the deal expiration, with the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria losing heating and hot water on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, the EU has downplayed the impact the loss of Russian gas supply will have on the 27-member bloc.
Fico Criticises Deal Expiration
Slovakian Prime Minister, Robert Fico blasted the move on Wednesday, warning it would be Europe that pays the price. “Halting gas transit via Ukraine will have a drastic impact on us all in the EU but not on the Russian Federation,” Fico said in a video message on Facebook.
Fico, who has been critical of the European Union’s support to Kyiv, last week travelled to Moscow to meet Putin anticipating a stoppage of the gas flow.
The situation is at its most critical in Moldova, which borders Ukraine and has to contend with Russian-backed separatists at home.
The tiny nation had already introduced a 60-day state of emergency earlier this month in anticipation of Kyiv’s expected cut.
Moldova’s President, Maia Sandu stated, “The Kremlin has once again resorted to energy blackmail in order to influence the 2025 parliamentary elections and undermine our European path.”
The EU redoubled its efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy after the outbreak of the military conflict in Ukraine in 2022 by seeking alternative sources.
As of December 1, the EU received less than 14 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas from Russia via Ukraine, down from 65 bcm/year when the latest five-year contract began in 2020.
The European Commission has said that volume can be fully replaced by liquefied natural gas and non-Russian pipeline imports.
Russia still exports gas via the TurkStream pipeline on the bed of the Black Sea.
Hungary – which like Slovakia has remained friendly to Moscow – receives most of its Russian gas imports via the Black Sea pipeline.
As a result, Budapest will remain largely unaffected by Ukraine’s decision.
READ ALSO: Apaak Slams Government’s Free SHS Indebtedness, Decries CHASS’s Late Intervention
