This is reported by RBK-Ukraine referencing Reuters. The information comes from Kontrakty.UA.
According to the agency, gas supplies continued despite nearly three years of war; however, Ukraine ceased transit at 7 AM on January 1, 2025.
The anticipated halt in supplies will not affect prices for consumers in the European Union, unlike in 2022 when the reduction of supplies from Russia led to record price increases, exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis, and impacted the competitiveness of the bloc.
Last remaining buyers of Russian gas from the EU via Ukraine, such as Slovakia and Austria, have organized alternative supplies. Hungary will continue to receive Russian gas through the "Turkish Stream," which runs through two pipelines at the bottom of the Black Sea.
Transnistria, a region of Moldova occupied by Russia and also reliant on transit flows, disconnected heating and hot water supply to households on Wednesday morning.
The European Commission stated that the EU has prepared for the shutdown.
"The European gas infrastructure is quite flexible enough to supply gas of non-Russian origin. Since 2022, it has been strengthened with significant new LNG (liquefied natural gas) import capacities," said a Commission representative.
Since the onset of Russia's war against Ukraine, the EU has reduced its dependence on Russian energy sources by purchasing more pipeline gas from Norway and LNG from Qatar and the USA.
Ukraine, which refused to extend the transit agreement, stated that Europe has already decided to abandon Russian gas.
"We have stopped the transit of Russian gas. This is a historic event. Russia is losing markets; it is facing financial losses," said Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
Costs for Both Sides
Ukraine will lose approximately $800 million annually in transit fees from Russia, while Gazprom will lose around $5 billion in gas sales.
Russia and the former Soviet Union spent half a century building a significant share of the European gas market, which at its peak accounted for about 35%; however, the war has virtually destroyed this business for Gazprom.
The "Yamal-Europe" pipeline, which passes through Belarus, has also been shut down, and in 2022, the "Nord Stream" route to Germany across the Baltic Sea was sabotaged.
In total, a record amount of gas was supplied to Europe in 2018—201 billion cubic meters. In 2023, Russia supplied approximately 15 billion cubic meters of gas through Ukraine, significantly down from 65 billion cubic meters when the last five-year contract came into effect in 2020.
It is worth noting that the five-year contract between Naftogaz and Gazprom expired on January 1, 2025. Ukraine closed the gas tap on January 1 at 7:00 AM, depriving Moscow of about $5-7 billion in annual revenue.
As Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko stated, "citizens will not feel this event at all", because we will ensure gas, and consequently heat, reaches the homes of every Ukrainian.