Russia’s Gazprom Stops Gas Supplies to European Union

Ukraine’s refusal to extend a gas transit deal with Moscow has forced the Russian company Gazprom to stop gas transit to Europe from 8 a.m. Moscow time on Wednesday, Russian news Agency TASS, citing Gazprom, said.

Even the data from European gas transmission system operators has confirmed the stoppage of Russian gas to the Europe Union, TASS said.

According to the report, data from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) showed that gas transit via Ukraine to Slovakia and the Czech Republic on the border with Slovakia has fully stopped. Gas supplies to Moldova from Ukraine have also halted almost completely.

The gas transit to Austria through the Baumgarten hub on the border with Slovakia, which is designed to transport gas from Russia and Norway, has dropped by more than three times at 8 a.m. Moscow time, according to data from ENTSOG and Austria’s AGGM. Gas transportation to Italy through a gas metering station on the border with Switzerland has decreased 2.5-fold.

However, gas flows through stations on the borders of Turkey and Bulgaria (the onshore part of the TurkStream pipeline), Hungary and Serbia, as well as Romania and Moldavia, remain stable, which makes it clear that Russian gas supplies to Europe have not been re-routed, TASS report said.

A Russia-Ukraine gas transit deal provided for the transit of 40 billion cubic meters of Russian gas through Ukraine annually. Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that there would definitely be no new contract for Russian gas transit because it’s not possible to make an agreement just days before the New Year. Kiev, in turn, announced plans to stop Russian gas transit.

No Russian Gas

However, Ukraine is ready to resume gas transit based on a request from the European Commission as long as gas is not considered as ‘Russian,’ while the Russian president pointed to the possibility of contracts with third parties, namely Turkish, Hungarian, Slovak and Azerbaijani companies.

Meanwhile, the Russia’s state-owned Gazprom said that as Ukraine repeatedly and clearly refused to extend these agreements, Gazprom was deprived of the technical and legal ability to supply gas for transit through Ukraine from Wednesday.

in a statement, the company pointed out that its five-year gas transit agreements with Ukraine’s Naftogaz on cooperation between the operators of the Russian and Ukrainian gas transportation systems had expired on January 1.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed the most interest in continued Russian gas supplies. On December 22, Fico made a visit to Russia and warned that the cost to the European Union could reach $124.87 billion in 2025-2026 from higher gas prices resulting from Ukraine’s move to end Russian gas transit.

EC on Alternative Routes

Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC) said that it was ready to stop Russian gas supplies via Ukraine, Reuters said while quoting an EC official.

The European gas infrastructure is flexible enough to supply non-Russian gas to Central and Eastern Europe via alternative routes. Even the Austrian Ministry of Energy also stated that the country was prepared to terminate the gas transit agreement, noting that gas supplies continue through other countries.