In an attempt to financially harm its invader, Ukraine cut off Moscow’s six-decade supply of natural gas, causing a main pipeline that supplies Russian energy to Europe to run empty on Wednesday.
The proposed action puts an end to a period in which many European nations relied on gas supplied by Russia to stay warm. Russia has denied accusations that it used this reliance to coerce its Western neighbors following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
After Ukraine repeatedly and explicitly refused to prolong these arrangements, Gazprom stated in a statement that the pipeline deal had expired.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin looks to build on his combat momentum by striking Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure during its harsh winter, Russia initiated its most recent round of drone attacks on Ukraine just as the pipeline agreement expired.
Ukraine’s Western-backed missile defense systems, aircraft, and electronic warfare equipment repelled the majority of Russia’s 111 drones, according to officials, but at least six people were hurt and two people were killed in Kyiv, the country’s capital.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated early on Wednesday that Russia was exclusively concerned with ways to harm Ukraine, even on New Year’s Eve.
Ukraine is engulfed in geopolitical turmoil and is militarily beleaguered, with Russian forces gaining ground on the front lines in recent months. Donald Trump, who will become president this month, has alarmed many Europeans by declining to pledge the same multibillion-dollar assistance for Ukraine that the Biden administration did.
Ukraine is attempting to harm Moscow in other ways besides attacking Russian territory. Not renewing the pipeline arrangement, which ended after 60 years of supplying Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine, is one aspect of it.
We put an end to Russian gas transit. According to a statement from Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko, this is a historic occasion. Russia will lose money because it is losing markets.
The development, according to Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorskis on X, was a fitting retribution for Putin, who he claimed was attempting to “blackmail Eastern Europe with the threat of cutting off gas supplies.”
The action was expected since Ukraine had stated time and time again that it would not extend the agreement, which Zelenskyy claimed last month allowed Russia to profit further billions on our blood.
However, according to Reuters, Ukraine will lose up to $1 billion annually in transit fees it paid Russia to use its pipeline, so it won’t be easy. According to the news agency, that is less than the $5 billion that Russia’s state-owned energy giant, Gazprom, is expected to lose each year.
Gazprom said in a statement on Wednesday that Ukraine’s “repeated and explicit refusal to extend these agreements” was the reason the pipeline deal had expired.
Since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the majority of European nations have diversified their gas supplies to the United States, Qatar, and other countries, reducing their reliance on Russian gas. However, stopping the pipeline caused natural gas prices in the European Union to soar to 50 euros ($52), the most since the invasion-related increase of 330 euros in 2022.
Austria, Slovakia, and especially Moldova, which is not a member of the EU, may potentially be impacted by shutting off the taps because they depend more on Russian gas than most other European countries. The local energy provider shut off domestic hot water and heating supplies on Wednesday in the Transdniestria breakaway area of Moldova, which is home to 450 000 residents and 1,500 Russian troops, according to Reuters.
In addition to the disruption of Russia’s natural gas supply to Ukraine, the Nord Stream gas pipelines continue to sustain damage from mysterious explosions that occurred in September 2022. Only the TurkStream pipeline, which connects Russia to Turkey, Hungary, and Serbia, remains.
CORRECTION (at 7 p.m. ET on January 2, 2025): The statement made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the pipeline deal allowed Russia to profit billions more off our blood was misreported in an earlier version of this article. Not earlier this month, but last month.
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