The supply of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine has been suspended after the expiration of the transit agreement News

A five-year gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine expired on Wednesday as Kiev refused to extend the contract amid wartime conditions.

Exports of Russian natural gas via Ukraine to several European countries have been halted after Kiev refused to renew a transit agreement that expired on Wednesday.

Ukraine has warned that it will not renew the five-year transit agreement amid the ongoing military conflict with Russia.

“We stopped the transit of Russian gas. This is a historical event. Russia is losing its markets and will suffer financial losses. Europe has already decided to give up Russian gas,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushenko said in a statement.

Russian energy giant Gazprom has announced that gas exports to Europe have been suspended since 08:00 Moscow time (05:00 GMT) due to the expiration of the transit agreement.

“Due to the repeated and clear refusal of the Ukrainian side to renew these contracts, Gazprom has been deprived of the technical and legal ability to supply gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine from January 1, 2025,” Gazprom said in a statement. Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine transports Russian natural gas through its territory to a number of European countries, including Slovakia, Moldova and Hungary.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has criticized the European Union’s support for Kiev, went to Moscow last week to meet with Putin, expecting the gas flow to stop.

Fico said on Friday that his government would consider retaliatory measures against Ukraine, such as cutting off backup electricity supplies, if it halts gas transit.

“It is completely irrational and wrong to accept the unilateral decision of the President of Ukraine,” Fico said in a letter to Brussels, criticizing the “big financial impact in a difficult economic period”.

The situation is at its most critical in Moldova, which borders Ukraine and is fighting Russian-backed separatists.

The tiny country had already imposed a 60-day state of emergency earlier this month ahead of Kiev’s expected cuts.

The closure of Russia’s oldest gas route to Europe ends a decade of tense relations that culminated in Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The European Union has redoubled its efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy by seeking alternative sources after the start of a military conflict in Ukraine in 2022.

Russia still exports gas through the Turkish Stream pipeline located at the bottom of the Black Sea.

Like Slovakia, Hungary, which is friendly to Moscow, receives most of its gas imports from Russia through the Black Sea pipeline. As a result, Budapest will be largely unaffected by Ukraine’s decision.