The Russian gas giant has confirmed the suspension of gas supplies through Ukraine after contracts for its transit to Europe via the Ukrainian gas pipeline system expired.
Russian gas company Gazprom interrupted natural gas supplies through Ukraine early on Wednesday as five-year transit agreements signed in 2020 expired.
“Due to the repeated and explicit refusal of the Ukrainian side to renew these agreements, Gazprom was deprived of the technical and legal possibility of supplying gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine from January 1, 2025,” he assured a statement.
The closure of the gas transit route to Europe ends a decade of critical relations sparked by Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea.
After the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022, the European Union redoubled its efforts to reduce its dependence on the Russian energy apparatus by seeking alternative sources and contracts with other countries such as Qatar and the United States that have helped the community bloc keep prices stable to keep. despite the decoupling with Russia.
However, Gazprom has also suffered from cuts in gas purchases by European countries. Last year, the Russian state-owned company recorded losses of more than 7,000 million dollars (6,727 million euros), the first time since 1999 that it recorded red figures, despite the company’s efforts to compensate for this drop in exports to the west thanks to China.
“The European gas infrastructure is flexible enough to supply gas of non-Russian origin via alternative routes to Central and Eastern Europe. It has been strengthened with significant new import capacities for liquefied natural gas from 2022,” said European Commission spokesperson Anna -Kaisa Itkonen.
Source: EITB
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