Bid for Russian gas transit through Ukraine falls to zero

The request for Russian gas transit through Ukraine on 1 January has dropped to zero. This was confirmed by the data of the Operator of the Ukrainian GTS (OGTSU) on December 31.

The day before, Gazprom reported the supply of blue fuel through the Suja GIS in the volume of 37.2 million cubic meters confirmed by Kiev for December 31. This was the last day of the agreement with Naftogaz Ukrainy on gas transit, RIA Novosti reported .

According to the document, supplies under the agreement will stop at 08:00 Moscow time. January 1. Ukraine has repeatedly said that it does not plan to extend the agreement.

Transit number: Will gas supplies through Ukraine stop on January 1?

Preservation of exports will depend on the geopolitical situation and the persistence of European business, experts believe

Earlier, on December 28, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko appealed to the EU over Fitzo's threats to cut off electricity supplies. He said that Ukraine was ready to replace Slovak electricity with supplies from other neighbors. According to him, negotiations with partners have already been held.

Before that, on December 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo held talks in the Kremlin. The Slovak leader called his visit to Russia a reaction to the statement of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, about the termination of Russian gas transit to Europe. The Ukrainian conflict was one of the topics of the meeting.

On December 20, Prime Minister Fitzo said that Zelensky said he would agree to transit Russian gas through Ukraine if Western countries did not pay Russia for the fuel until the conflict ended. The Slovak prime minister called this condition absurd, as no one would supply gas for free, and Kiev thus completely excludes the possibility of transit.

On August 27, the Ukrainian president said that the country would not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia, which expires at the end of 2024. Putin said on September 5 that Russia was not giving up gas transit through Ukraine. According to the head of state, Gazprom plans to fulfill all its obligations under long-term contracts.