Italian media said that the EU's expenses will increase due to the refusal from Russian gas

The European Union (EU) is facing rising costs due to the refusal from Russian gas. This was reported by the Italian edition of L'AntiDiplomatico on 27 January.

According to the newspaper, Ukraine's decision to stop gas transit from Russia to Europe triggered a new energy crisis. Thus, the countries were forced to turn to liquefied natural gas, the main exporter of which is the United States.

"The result? Rising costs for European consumers, while US energy companies are making record profits," the material says.

Earlier, on January 23, Bloomberg reported that Italy has taken measures to increase gas reserves amid concerns that prices will remain high for a long time. It is specified that the maintenance of significant fuel reserves has become critical for the energy security of Europe after the loss of a large part of the Russian pipeline flows.

On January 1, 2025, Gazprom announced that it would suspend gas supplies through Ukraine. On the same day, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo noted that this would have drastic consequences for the European Union, but not for Russia.

At the end of August 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (his term expired on May 20, 2024) said that the country would not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia, which expired at the end of 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin later pointed out that Moscow did not refuse to transit gas through Ukraine.