Ukraine officially halts Russian gas transit
Photo: open sources
On January 1 at 7:00 a.m., the delivery of Russian natural gas through Ukraine's territory was suspended in the interest of national security.
The Ministry of Energy reported this.
Ukraine informed its international partners through the established protocol.
Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko called this decision a "historical event" that will cause Russia financial losses and contribute to its loss of markets.
"We stopped the transit of Russian gas; this is a historical event. Russia is losing markets; it will suffer financial losses. Europe has already decided to abandon Russian gas. And the European Repower EU initiative provides for exactly what Ukraine has done today," he stressed.
It is noted that the Ukrainian gas transportation system is now operating without Russian gas transit.
"The gas transportation system's infrastructure is prearranged to operate in a zero transit mode and ensure consistent gas supply for Ukrainian consumers," the message reads.
By the way, Ukraine has a 38,600 km gas pipeline system.
For reference:
Naftogaz's contract with Gazprom from 2019 allows the transportation of 40 billion cubic meters of gas annually.
It should be noted that Gazprom is not paying under its contract for the Sokhranivka gas pipeline route, which is located in the occupied zone.
Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine will not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia, which expires on January 1, 2025. However, Ukraine has discussed transiting Azerbaijani gas to the EU.
This caused outrage in Slovakia. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico personally traveled to Kyiv to persuade the Ukrainian government to extend the contract.
One of Fico's arguments was that if Ukraine "wants to preserve the infrastructure, it should use it." He also emphasized that both countries would benefit from the transit, as Slovakia would pay Ukraine transit fees.
However, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal explained that imposing sanctions on Russian gas and depriving Russia of the ability to finance a war with it was "Ukraine's strategic goal."
