(Updated throughout)
Exports of Russian gas transiting through Ukraine ceased this Wednesday, marking the end of Russian domination of the European energy market forced to diversify its supplies since Moscow’s invasion of Ukrainian territory in February 2022.
The sanctions targeting Russia did not prevent Russian gas from reaching Western Europe for almost three years, but Kyiv’s refusal to renew the transit contract which linked it to the Russian gas giant Gazprom GAZP.MM until Wednesday put an end to this situation.
This stop had been widely anticipated by the European authorities and it should not have a significant impact on the prices paid by European consumers, unlike in 2022 when the drop in Russian gas deliveries caused significant tensions on the energy front. the offer.
The last countries which still supplied themselves with Russian gas, such as Austria or Slovakia, have since found alternatives. Hungary, for its part, will continue to obtain supplies from Russia by transporting Russian gas through TurkStream, which operates two gas pipelines crossing the Black Sea.
In Transnistria, a Moldovan region subservient to Moscow, the heating and hot water supply was however cut off on Wednesday morning due to lack of supplies.
In Brussels, the European Commission prides itself on having anticipated the end of Russian gas deliveries. “The European gas infrastructure is flexible enough to supply gas that does not originate in Russia,” said a spokesperson for the European executive. “It has been enhanced by new LNG (liquefied natural gas) capacities,” he added.
In a statement released Wednesday, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Russian gas no longer transits through Ukrainian territory.
“This is a historic event,” said Minister German Galouchenko, citing “national security” as the reason for not renewing the transit agreement, according to comments reported by his services.
(Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow, Dan Peleschuk in Kyiv; French version Jean Terzian and Nicolas Delame)
