A historic turning point: Russia has definitively cut off the gas tap to Europe via Ukraine, a stoppage that worries Eastern Europe. Energy diversification has a price in this tense context…
In a tense geopolitical and energy context, a historic event has just occurred: deliveries of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine definitively ceased on Wednesday morning. This decision directly impacts several Eastern European countries, which are worried about their energy supply.
The end of a strategic transit
According to Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko, the cessation of Russian gas transit via Ukraine marks a turning point. He believes that Russia will suffer financial losses by losing markets. This judgment follows the expiration of a five-year contract signed in 2019 between Naftogaz (Ukrainian company) and Gazprom (Russian gas giant).
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, this contract was seen as a guarantee of energy security. But the conflict which left hundreds of thousands of victims changed everything. Russia regularly targets Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, plunging the population into cold and darkness.
Eastern European countries worried
Although Europe’s overall dependence on Russian gas has significantly decreased since the start of the war, certain states located in the East remain very dependent. Slovakia and Hungary particularly complained about seeing the tap cut off.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who remains close to Vladimir Putin, went to Moscow at the end of December to try to find an emergency solution. An approach which aroused the anger of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to a spokesperson for the Slovak gas company SPP, any alternative to Russian gas will be significantly more expensive.
Reduced Russian supplies
Since the sabotage of the Nord Stream tubes in the Baltic Sea more than two years ago, Europe will now only be supplied with Russian gas by the TurkStream gas pipeline, which passes under the Black Sea, and its Balkan Stream extension. It also imports significant quantities of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by LNG carriers.
Hungary receives most of its gas via TurkStream, so stopping transit through Ukraine will only marginally affect it. However, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he did not want to abandon this route.
Moldova in state of emergency
At the same time, Gazprom must stop its gas deliveries to Moldova on Wednesday, as part of a financial dispute. This country, one of the poorest in Europe, has just re-elected a pro-European president.
Faced with the critical situation, Moldova has declared a state of emergency. Even though Gazprom had already stopped a large part of its deliveries after the start of the war, the thermal power plant fueled by Russian gas still provides 70% of the country’s electricity.
Diversification has a price and any alternative to Russian gas will be significantly more expensive.– Ondrej Sebesta, spokesperson for the Slovak gas company SPP
This gas cut illustrates the complexity of energy relations between Russia and Europe in the context of the war in Ukraine. If some countries are looking for alternatives, the transition promises to be costly and fraught with pitfalls. European unity and solidarity will be more necessary than ever to overcome this major energy challenge.
Since the sabotage of the Nord Stream tubes in the Baltic Sea more than two years ago, Europe will now only be supplied with Russian gas by the TurkStream gas pipeline, which passes under the Black Sea, and its Balkan Stream extension. It also imports significant quantities of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by LNG carriers.
Hungary receives most of its gas via TurkStream, so stopping transit through Ukraine will only marginally affect it. However, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he did not want to abandon this route.
Moldova in state of emergency
At the same time, Gazprom must stop its gas deliveries to Moldova on Wednesday, as part of a financial dispute. This country, one of the poorest in Europe, has just re-elected a pro-European president.
Faced with the critical situation, Moldova has declared a state of emergency. Even though Gazprom had already stopped a large part of its deliveries after the start of the war, the thermal power plant fueled by Russian gas still provides 70% of the country’s electricity.
Diversification has a price and any alternative to Russian gas will be significantly more expensive.– Ondrej Sebesta, spokesperson for the Slovak gas company SPP
This gas cut illustrates the complexity of energy relations between Russia and Europe in the context of the war in Ukraine. If some countries are looking for alternatives, the transition promises to be costly and fraught with pitfalls. European unity and solidarity will be more necessary than ever to overcome this major energy challenge.
