Russia halts gas export to Europe via Ukraine

• Published On: 02 January 2025 at 07:06

Russian natural gas exports to Europe via Soviet-era pipelines through Ukraine were halted on New Year's Day after a transit agreement expired, with Moscow and Kyiv unable to agree on terms to restart the flow.

The closure of Russia's oldest gas route to Europe concludes a decade of tense relations that began with Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Ukraine stopped purchasing Russian gas the following year.

"We halted the transit of Russian gas. This is a historical event. Russia is losing markets and will face financial losses. "Europe has already decided to abandon Russian gas," Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko said in a statement.

The gas flow stoppage was expected due to the ongoing war, which began in February 2022. Despite the military conflict, Ukraine refused to extend the agreement.

According to one industry source, Gazprom anticipated the end of gas transit through Ukraine last year, which accounted for roughly half of Russia's total pipeline gas exports to Europe.

Russia continues to export gas through the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea. TurkStream consists of two lines, one serving the Turkish domestic market and the other supplying central European countries such as Hungary and Serbia.

Following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the European Union increased efforts to reduce its reliance on Russian energy by looking into alternative sources.

Countries such as Slovakia and Austria, which still receive Russian gas through Ukraine, have also planned for alternative energy supplies to ensure stability and compliance with EU sanctions.

There were no immediate responses from Europe on Wednesday morning.

The five-year gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine ended on January 1.

"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 said in a statement distributed via the Telegram messaging website.

"Starting from 08:00 Moscow time, the supply of Russian gas for its transportation through the territory of Ukraine is not carried out."

Ukraine's energy ministry also stated that the transportation of Russian gas through Ukraine "has been halted in the interests of national security."