Russian gas no longer passes through Ukraine, these European countries are panicking

INTERNATIONAL – Tap closed. Deliveries of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine definitively ceased this Wednesday, January 1. At issue: the expiration of a contract between the Ukrainian company Naftogaz and the Russian giant Gazprom, signed at the end of 2019. This stoppage concerns around a third of total Russian gas supplies to Europe. Result: several Eastern countries, still very dependent on this gas, are worried.

“We stopped the transit of Russian gas, it’s a historic event. Russia is losing markets, it will suffer financial losses »welcomed German Galushchenko, the Ukrainian Minister of Energy, this Wednesday.

Volodymyr Zelensky also described this ruling as “one of Moscow’s greatest defeats”. « When Putin took power in Russia more than 25 years ago, the annual volume of gas sent via Ukraine to Europe amounted to more than 130 billion cubic meters. Today, Russian gas transit is at zero, which is one of Moscow’s biggest defeats.wrote the Ukrainian president on social networks.

Hungary and Slovakia worried

In recent weeks, Hungary and Slovakia have complained about seeing the tap cut off. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, well-disposed towards Vladimir Putin and whose country is very dependent on Russian gas supplies, warned on Wednesday of a “ drastic impact on all of us in the EU ». This nationalist leader went to Moscow on December 22 to try to find an urgent solution, provoking the anger of Volodymyr Zelensky, who accused him of wanting “ help Putin ».

For its part, Hungary receives most of its Russian gas imports via TurkStream, which passes under the Black Sea, and stopping transit via Ukraine will only marginally affect it, even if Prime Minister Viktor Orban said “ not wanting to give up » this road.

State of emergency declared in Moldova

From now on, Europe will only be supplied with Russian gas by TurkStream, and its extension Balkan Stream. It also imports significant quantities of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by LNG tankers.

If the EU claims to have prepared for such a scenario, the case of Moldova – which has declared a state of emergency – is more critical. The Russian manager Gazprom had announced the cessation of deliveries even before kyiv formalized the end of the transit contract, in the context of a financial dispute with this former Soviet republic with European aspirations.

In this country, the pro-Russian separatist region of Transdniestria “going through a difficult situation” after local supplier Tiraspoltransgaz “interrupted the supply of natural gas and heating”warned Moldovan government spokesperson Daniel Voda, calling on Russia to “stop his blackmail”.

Residents are invited to “dress warmly”has “gather together in one room” and not to use homemade heating means to prevent the risk of fire, according to a press release from an energy company.

According to the authorities, 131 schools and 147 kindergartens had to be cut off from the network due to the supply interruption. The leader of the pro-Russian separatists, Vadim Krasnosselskii, quickly recognized “a problem” and called an emergency meeting.

The rest of Moldova is spared for the moment, notably thanks to help from neighboring Romania. It has no longer received Russian gas since the start of the war in Ukraine but depends for a large part of its electricity needs on the Transdniestrian thermal power station.

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