Ukraine halts transit of Russian gas to Europe after a prewar deal expired

Ukraine halts Russian gas supplies to Europe, impacting energy security and market dynamics, as Europe moves to phase out Russian gas.

Ukraine on Wednesday (January 1, 2025) halted Russian gas supplies to European customers that pass through the country, almost three years into Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor, after a prewar transit deal expired.

Ukraine’s Energy Minister, German Galushchenko, confirmed on Wednesday (January 1, 2025) morning that Kyiv had stopped the gas flows “in the interest of national security.”

“This is a historic event. Russia is losing markets and will incur financial losses. Europe has already decided to phase out Russian gas, and (this) aligns with what Ukraine has done today,” Mr. Galushchenko said in an update on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia’s Gazprom said in a statement on Wednesday (January 1, 2025) morning that it had been “deprived of the technical and legal ability to supply gas for transit through Ukraine,” due to Ukraine’s refusal to extend the deal.

Even as Russian troops and tanks moved into Ukraine, Russian natural gas kept flowing through the country’s pipeline network — set up when Ukraine and Russia were both part of the Soviet Union — to Europe, under a five-year agreement that ran through the end of last year. Gazprom earned money from the gas and Ukraine collected transit fees.

Before the war, Russia supplied nearly 40% of the European Union's pipeline natural gas. Gas flowed through four pipeline systems, one under the Baltic Sea, one through Belarus and Poland, one through Ukraine and one under the Black Sea through Turkey to Bulgaria.

After the war started, Russia cut off most supplies through the Baltic and Belarus-Poland pipelines, citing disputes over a demand for payment in rubles. The Baltic pipeline was blown up in an act of sabotage, but details of the attack remain murky.