- Messages
- 29,587
Ukraine Forces a Halt to Flow of Natural Gas From Russia to Europe
A transnational pipeline was shut down on Wednesday after Kyiv refused to renew an agreement that allowed for the transit of Russian gas through its territory.
Ukraine Forces a Halt to Flow of Natural Gas From Russia to Europe
A transnational pipeline was shut down on Wednesday after Kyiv refused to renew an agreement that allowed for the transit of Russian gas through its territory.“… The move to suspend the flow of gas through a pipeline that had carried Soviet and then Russian gas to Europe for decades is part of a broader campaign by Ukraine and its Western allies to undermine Moscow’s ability to fund its war effort and to limit the Kremlin’s ability to use energy as leverage in Europe.
“This is a historic event,” Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Galushchenko, said in a statement. “Russia is losing markets, it will suffer financial losses.”
The pipeline through Ukraine, built in the Soviet era to carry Siberian gas to European markets, is Russia’s last major gas corridor to Europe following the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany, possibly by Ukraine, and the closure of a route through Belarus to Poland.
… While the move could substantially reduce Russia’s revenue from gas sales, it also carries risks for Ukraine. Military analysts said that Moscow could choose to bomb Ukraine’s vast network of pipelines, which it has largely spared from attack over the past three years, now that it has little incentive to leave them unharmed.
Slovakia, one of the European countries that most depends on Russian gas, had also threatened retaliation against Ukraine after Mr. Zelensky had announced plans on Dec. 19 to shut the pipeline.
Because the expiration of the gas transit deal was anticipated and prepared for by European countries, it was not expected to have an immediate effect on prices, analysts said.
The Russian energy giant, Gazprom, issued a statement early on Wednesday confirming that it was no longer sending gas from Siberia through the pipeline. …”
