Published on 01/01/2025 at 11:25 a.m.
MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) – Russian state energy giant Gazprom said gas exports to Europe via Ukraine were suspended at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Wednesday, following the expiration of a bilateral transit agreement, which Kyiv did not renew for reasons of “national security”.
It was the oldest route for transporting Russian gas to Europe. Russia will continue its exports thanks to the TurkStream gas pipeline in the Black Sea, which can supply southeastern Europe in particular.
The non-renewal of the agreement, sealed five years earlier, comes as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine approaches its third anniversary.
Kyiv, whose tensions with its neighbor had already been exacerbated by Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, reiterated that it would not extend the gas deal.
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.
Since the offensive launched by Russia in February 2022, which Ukraine and its Western allies denounce as an invasion, the European Union has strived to reduce its energy dependence on Russia.
(Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow, Dan Peleschuk in Kyiv; French version Jean Terzian)
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