Russia Suspends Gas Exports to Europe Through Ukraine

The shutdown of the oldest gas route Russia has to Europe concludes a decade of tense relations triggered by the annexation of Crimea by Moscow in 2014.

The energy giant Gazprom said Wednesday that gas exports via Ukraine to Europe had been halted from 08:00 Moscow time (0500 GMT) amid failure to agree on a new transit deal.

The shutdown of the oldest gas route Russia has to Europe concludes a decade of tense relations triggered by the annexation of Crimea by Moscow in 2014.

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Russia still exports gas via the TurkStream pipeline along the bed of the Black Sea.

The European Union escalated its efforts at reducing its dependency on Russian energy after the full-scale military conflict in Ukraine that erupted in 2022 to find alternative supplies.

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The five-year gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine lapsed in early hours of January 1, 2025, while Kiev has repeatedly asserted that it was not going to extend the agreement because of the ongoing war.

"Due to the repeated and clearly expressed refusal of the Ukrainian side to renew these agreements, Gazprom was 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 on the Telegram messaging app.

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"Starting from 08:00 Moscow time, the supply of Russian gas for its transportation through the territory of Ukraine is not carried out."

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