Russian natural gas shipments through Ukraine ended on 1 January 2025 after the expiration of a 2019 transit agreement between Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine.
The agreement, which enabled the transportation of Russian gas through Ukrainian pipelines to European markets, concluded at 8:00AM Moscow time, halting operations without a renewed legal or technical framework.
The suspension of flows comes amid an ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, which has disrupted energy supply chains across the region.
Gazprom attributed the halt to Ukraine’s refusal to extend the agreement. On social media platform, X, the Russian firm stated: “Gazprom has no technical and legal possibility of performing transit gas supplies across Ukraine.”
European countries have prepared for the cessation by diversifying their energy imports. Slovakia and Austria, the last European Union (EU) buyers of Russian gas via Ukraine, have arranged alternative sources. Hungary, meanwhile, continues to receive Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline, which bypasses Ukraine via the Black Sea, reported Reuters.
The European Commission confirmed that the bloc’s infrastructure is equipped to handle disruptions in Russian gas supplies.
A spokesperson, has been quoted by the news agency, as saying: “The European gas infrastructure is flexible enough to provide gas of non-Russian origin. It has been reinforced with significant new LNG (liquefied natural gas) import capacities since 2022.”
According to Reuters, increased LNG imports from Qatar and the US, as well as additional pipeline flows from Norway, now form the backbone of European energy security.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister, German Galushchenko, characterised the halt as a historic moment. He said: “We stopped the transit of Russian gas. This is a historic event. Russia is losing its markets, it will suffer financial losses.”
However, Ukraine is expected to lose up to $1bn annually in transit fees. To offset this, it plans to quadruple domestic gas transmission tariffs, a move projected to cost Ukrainian industries over UAH1.6bn annually.
Gazprom is forecast to lose around $5bn in annual revenue from the cessation of transit. The company has also seen a significant decline in its export volumes, with deliveries to Europe falling from 201 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2018 to just 15bcm in 2023.
Gazprom has redirected much of its supply through the TurkStream pipeline, although other key routes, such as Nord Stream and Yamal-Europe, remain non-operational.
Moldova’s Transdniestria region, which relied on gas routed through Ukraine, has been significantly affected. Local energy provider Tirasteploenergo announced the suspension of heating and hot water services, urging residents to adopt alternative heating methods.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the halt in gas transit “one of Moscow’s biggest defeats.” Writing on Telegram, he urged the US to increase gas exports to Europe and stressed the importance of assisting Moldova during its energy transition.
