Ukraine officially stopped all transit of Russian gas to Europe on Wednesday morning, marking a decisive energy break with Moscow. If the dependence of Twenty-seven has been significantly reduced since the start of the war in Ukraine, this stop worries several countries in the east of the EU, including Slovakia.
Closing the taps. Ukraine stopped, Wednesday 1is January, any transit of Russian gas to Europe, after the expiration of a five-year contract signed between the two parties in 2019.
“We have stopped the transit of Russian gas, it is a historic event. Russia is losing markets, it will suffer financial losses”, welcomed the Ukrainian Minister of Energy, German Galushchenko, quoted by his services in a press release.
No deliveries were planned for Wednesday, according to data published the day before by the Ukrainian operator GTSOU, noting the expiration of a contract between the Ukrainian company Naftogaz and the Russian giant Gazprom, which, for its part, confirmed the stopping deliveries, while deploring Ukraine’s decision: “Due to the repeated and explicit refusal of the Ukrainian side to extend this agreement, Gazprom was deprived of the technical and legal possibility of supplying gas for transit through Ukraine.”
Refusal to “finance the Russian war”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the maintenance of this energy agreement appeared increasingly fragile. For kyiv, continuing these exchanges amounted to “financing the Russian war” on its territory, explains Emmanuelle Chaze, France 24 correspondent in Ukraine.
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