Hungary says situation in Ukraine worsens due to refusal of Russian gas transit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's refusal to supply Russian gas (his term expired on May 20, 2024) has put the country in a worse financial situation. This was reported by the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet on 3 January.

According to the newspaper, the decision will entail a heavy blow to the country's economy, which is already suffering losses in the conflict.

"Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine have stopped, and this will lead to significant financial losses for Kiev. The country will lose $1 billion a year on transit fees", - indicated in the message.

The material also noted that the Ukrainian leadership to partially compensate for lost revenues raised gas tariffs four times.

There is no more gas transit through Ukraine. What the media say

Earlier, on January 2, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova noted that the termination of gas supplies from Russia through Ukraine weakens the economic potential of the EU. She stressed that the Russian side had fulfilled all its obligations under the contract with Naftohaz Ukrayiny. In his turn, a member of the Verkhovna Rada, Artem Dmytruk, said that Ukraine would face big problems after its decision to refuse to transit Russian gas through its territory. He pointed out that Ukraine would lose revenues from transit, which previously amounted to $800m per year.

On January 1, 2025, Gazprom stopped supplying fuel to Europe through the Ukrainian gas transportation system.

In August 2024, Zelensky said that Ukraine would not prolong the gas transit contract with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out that Moscow was not giving up gas supplies through Ukraine.