A major natural gas pipeline supplying Russian energy to Europe ran dry Wednesday after Ukraine stopped Moscow’s six-decade supply in the hopes of hurting its invader financially.
The planned move marks the end of an era in which many European countries kept warm using gas pumped by Russia — which was in turn accused of using this dependency to blackmail its Western neighbors after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, something it denies.
Gazprom confirmed in a statement that the pipeline agreement had lapsed following “repeated and explicit refusal to extend these agreements” by Ukraine.
Just as the pipeline agreement expired, Russia launched its latest salvo of drone attacks on Ukraine, as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to build on his battlefield momentum by targeting Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure during its bitter winter.
Most of Russia’s 111 drones were repelled by Ukraine’s Western-backed missile defense systems, aircraft and electronic warfare technology, officials said, although at least six people were injured and two killed in the capital Kyiv.
“Even on New Year’s Eve, Russia was only worried about how to hurt Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said early Wednesday.
Ukraine is embattled militarily, with Russian forces making frontline gains in recent months, as well as being shrouded by geopolitical uncertainty. President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to enter office later this month, has unnerved many in Europe by refusing to commit to the same multibillion dollar support for Ukraine provided by the Biden administration.
As well as launching attacks into Russian territory, Ukraine is trying to hurt Moscow in other ways. Part of that is not renewing the pipeline agreement, which expired having supplied Europe with Russian gas via Ukraine for six decades.
“We stopped the transit of Russian gas. This is a historic event,” Ukraine Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said in a statement. “Russia is losing markets, it will suffer financial losses.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski posted to X that the development was apt comeuppance for Putin, who he accused of trying to “blackmail Eastern Europe with the threat of cutting off gas supplies.”
The move was no surprise; Ukraine repeatedly said it would not renew the deal that Zelenskyy said earlier this month gave Russia “the opportunity to earn additional billions on our blood.”
But it will not be painless, with Ukraine losing up to $1 billion a year in transit fees it charged Russia to use its pipeline, Reuters reported. That’s less than the $5 billion Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy giant, is set to lose annually, according to the news agency.
Gazprom confirmed in a statement Wednesday that the pipeline agreement had lapsed following “repeated and explicit refusal to extend these agreements” by Ukraine.
Most European countries no longer depend on Russian gas having diversified their supply — to the United States, Qatar and others — following Putin’s Feb. 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Nevertheless halting the pipeline saw European Union natural gas prices rise to 50 euros ($52), their highest since the 330 euro spike in 2022 following the invasion.
Turning off the taps may also impact Austria, Slovakia and particularly Moldova — which is not part of the E.U. — all of whom rely on Russian gas more than most in Europe. Already in the Moldovan breakaway region of Transdniestria, home to 450,00 people and 1,500 Russian troops, the local energy company cut off domestic hot water and heating supplies Wednesday, Reuters said.
Not only is Russia’s Ukrainian natural gas artery down, the Nord Stream gas pipelines remain damaged by as-yet unexplained explosions in Sept. 2022. That only leaves the TurkStream pipeline linking Russia with Turkey, Hungary and Serbia.
