There is no more gas transit through Ukraine. What the media say
Despite attempts by Slovakia and Hungary to preserve the transit of Russian gas, Gazprom stopped supplying fuel to Europe via the Ukrainian gas transportation system on 1 January. The first victim of the transit cutoff was Moldova. What foreign media write about it - in the Izvestia digest.
Reuters: the era of Russian gas in Europe is coming to an end
Russian gas supplies through the territory of Ukraine continued despite the conflict. The stoppage of supplies will not affect prices for consumers in the European Union, as the remaining buyers of Russian gas, such as Austria and Slovakia, have organized alternative supplies, and Hungary receives gas through Turkish Stream.
Reuters
But Transnistria, a breakaway pro-Russian region of Ukraine's neighboring Moldova that also depends on transit flows, cut off heating and hot water supplies to households on Wednesday morning. Local energy company Tirasteploenergo urged residents to dress warmly, hang blankets or thick curtains over windows and balcony doors and use electric heaters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (his term expired in May 2024 - Ed.) called the transit cutoff one of Moscow's biggest defeats and urged the U.S. to supply more gas to Europe. Ukraine will lose up to $1 billion a year in transit fees from Russia. To offset the consequences, gas transportation tariffs for Ukrainian consumers will quadruple, costing the industry more than 1.6 billion hryvnias ($38.2 million) a year.
Bloomberg: Russia and Ukraine have ended a 50-year history of gas transit to Europe
Although gas transit through Ukraine covers just 5% of Europe's needs, its halt means countries will be forced to buy more expensive gas elsewhere while the EU depletes winter storage at the fastest pace in years. The continent is now more exposed to market volatility because of its dependence on global liquefied natural gas.
Bloomberg
For Russia, losing one of its two remaining pipeline routes to Europe would cut revenue by about $6 billion a year, Bloomberg calculations show. Ukraine would also lose transit fees and give up its longtime strategic position as a conduit of affordable energy to Western allies
Stopping transit would make it harder to build up reserves ahead of the next heating season - storage facilities are now less than 75% full. With Europe's supply cuts, Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to increase LNG supplies: despite calls from some European countries to ban liquefied natural gas shipments from Moscow, the region is buying record volumes.
Le Monde: halting Russian gas transit through Ukraine puts the EU at risk
Despite the conflict, Russia remains one of Europe's main suppliers of gas, the price of which has soared to its highest level in over a year. Ending the gas transit contract would mean lost revenue for the Kremlin and, above all, new energy tensions in the Old Continent. The announcement of the halt immediately triggered a blow to gas prices, which were already under pressure due to the cold start to winter.
Le Monde
In 2024, Slovakia was still dependent on Russian gas for most of its gas needs. So did Austria: more than 80% of imports came from Russia, and in some months even more than 90%. However, as of November 16, 2024, Gazprom had already interrupted supplies under a long-term contract with Austrian company OMV
OMV has finally terminated the contract for the period from 2006 to 2040, but this does not mean that Austria has stopped buying Russian gas. Moldova, which is not part of the EU but depends on supplies through the Ukrainian pipeline, is in the most critical situation: the republic declared a state of emergency in mid-December 2024. In the capital Chisinau, most Christmas lights will be switched off earlier than planned. As of September 2024, Russia remains the second largest gas supplier to the EU, with Norway in first place and the US in third.
Deutsche Welle: Transnistria is left without gas and heating
Now in Tiraspol it is about +7 °C during the day and -2 °C at night, citizens were urged not to open hot water taps and not to drain the batteries themselves, for heating it was suggested to use electric heaters. To generate electricity, the largest in the region Moldavskaya (Kuchurgan) TPP has started switching from gas to coal.
Deutsche Welle
According to the Telegram channel "Pridnestrovets", coal reserves at the TPP are enough for 50-52 days. In addition, the station has stopped supplying electricity to the rest of Moldova, on the right bank of the Dniester. The authorities in Chisinau assure that they will cover the country's electricity needs through purchases in Romania
On January 1, Gazprom completely stopped supplying gas through Ukraine after the five-year transit contract with Naftohaz Ukrayiny expired. The Russian concern said that the extension of the agreement was refused by Kiev, because of which Gazprom is "deprived of the technical and legal possibility" to supply gas.
"Politics of the Country": what does the termination of transit of Russian gas mean for Ukraine?
Since 2015, gas to Ukraine was officially supplied from Europe, but in reality it was a withdrawal of transit Russian gas, documented as a purchase in EU countries. Ukraine got rid of gas imports in 2023, as the conflict reduced its consumption and almost all gas deposits remained in the controlled territory - they cover the country's domestic needs. But several points could create serious problems.
"The Country's Policy
First, gas transportation tariffs for domestic consumers have already been quadrupled to partially compensate for the loss of revenue from Russian gas transit fees. True, the authorities have promised that this increase will not lead to an increase in gas and heat tariffs for the population. But it will definitely lead to an increase in tariffs for industry, public sector employees and businesses. In addition, it will also be problematic to keep tariffs for the population at the current level for a long time due to the difficult financial situation of regional gas and heat utilities
Secondly, there may be more frequent attacks on the gas infrastructure and, more dangerously, on gas fields that are located near the front line - in Kharkiv and Poltava regions. If they are taken out of service, a deficit in the domestic market will be created, which will have to be covered by expensive imports. Third, from the point of view of the world economy, Ukraine is turning into a logistical dead end, losing its transit potential.
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