The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe has been suspended as planned, authorities said on New Year’s Day.
Russia’s Gazprom has no legal or technical means to pump gas through Ukraine after Kiev allowed the existing contract to expire on Wednesday, the company wrote on Telegram.
Transit has therefore been suspended since 6 am (0500 GMT).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said the suspension of the flow of Russian natural gas through Ukraine to Europe marks a significant defeat for Moscow.
Zelensky said that when Russian President Vladimir Putin assumed office for the first time more than 25 years ago, gas transit through Ukraine to Europe accounted for more than 130 billion cubic metres annually.
“Today, the transit of Russian gas is [zero]. This is one of Moscow’s biggest defeats,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko called the halt to the transit of Russian gas through the war-torn country a “historic event.”
“Russia is losing markets, it will suffer from the financial losses,” he said.
Under the contract, Ukraine also long collected billions in transit fees. But Halushchenko said the gas transmission network had been prepared for the delivery stop, assisted by the EU, which sought alternatives to Russian gas after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.
Kiev’s move means that Slovakia no longer receives Russian gas via this pipeline.
Slovakia, an EU and NATO member state bordering Ukraine, has threatened Kiev with consequences for taking the step.
The validity of the contract signed on December 30, 2019, expired this morning, Gazprom said, noting that the Ukrainian side repeatedly refused to extend the contract.
Kiev said it would no longer allow the transit of Russian gas through its territory in order to deny Moscow billions of dollars in revenues that are being used to fund the war on Ukraine.
The Slovakian government has castigated Kiev for the decision, while assuring the population that its gas storage facilities are 100% full, with enough reserves for the winter period.
Prime Minister Robert Fico, who critics accuse of taking a pro-Russian stance, threatened in turn to stop electricity supplies from Slovakia to Ukraine.
Fico remains one of the EU’s strongest opponents of military aid to Ukraine.
Moldova was also to have been affected by the Ukrainian transit ban. However, Gazprom had already decided to stop deliveries to the former Soviet republic, where pro-European and pro-Russian forces are vying for power, due to alleged debts.
The Moldovan government has denied it owes Gazprom a debt of $790 million.
Despite the supply stop, Russian gas continues to reach the EU via other routes, including the TurkStream and Blue Stream gas pipelines laid in the Black Sea.
TurkStream, for example, supplies not only Turkey but also south-eastern Europe.
Russian energy analysts recently said Gazprom could ramp up its deliveries through the pipelines by 4 billion to 6 billion cubic metres per year.
Even now, Russia continues to make billions from its gas exports to individual EU states, including Hungary. Moscow has also recently been increasing exports to China in particular.
