Ukraine received its first batch of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States on Friday, as a major deal allowing the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine expires.
Despite the war, Moscow continued to transport gas via Ukraine under a multibillion-euro deal, which kyiv said it refused to renew after it expired at the end of the year.
“DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, today took delivery of its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States,” the company said in a statement.
The company confirmed to AFP that this cargo of around 100 million cubic meters of gas was the first American delivery to Ukraine, whose energy network has been hit hard by several waves of Russian bombing.
DTEK secured this pipeline delivery after the LNG was delivered to a Greek regasification terminal in the Mediterranean on Friday. “Cargoes like this not only provide the region with a flexible and secure source of energy, but they also contribute to eroding Russia’s influence on our energy system,” said Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, cited in the press release.
After the Russian strikes, Ukraine increased its electricity imports from the EU. According to kyiv, obtaining direct deliveries of American LNG will help relieve pressure on the European gas market.
The European Union has not been able to completely cut its energy ties with Moscow, although it has also increased its LNG purchases since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Several officials, including Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, have suggested increasing gas supplies from the United States to replace Russian energy, despite concerns over the cost of such a supply.
US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened Europe with tariffs if it does not buy more American gas.
