Russian fuel materials to the European Union states of Ukraine have been disrupted, closing Moscow’s oldest road to the mainland.
The five -year fuel shipping agreement between Russia and Ukraine ended in the early hours of January 1. This expected resolution after kyiv said in several events that he would not reach an agreement in the midst of the existing war.
“We have stopped the transit of Russian gas,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Gaulushchenko said in a statement.
“This is a historic event. Russia is losing its markets, it will suffer financial losses. Europe has already made the decision to abandon Russian gas.”
Gazprom fuel Gazprom is expected to lose approximately $ 5 billion (£ 3. 9 billion) in fuel sales due to closure.
However, the country still exports gas via the TurkStream pipeline in the Black Sea. TurkStream has two lines – one for the Turkish domestic market and the other supplying central European customers including Hungary and Serbia.
The EU redoubled its efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy by seeking alternative sources after Russia’s invasion in 2022.
The European Commission said on Wednesday the bloc was prepared for the stoppage, and gas infrastructure was “flexible enough to provide gas of non-Russian origin to central and eastern Europe via alternative routes”.
The remaining buyers of Russian gas, adding Slovakia, said they would continue to source pipelines from consumers in Germany and Hungary, but would face more prices to do so.
While the Austrian power minister said the country had done its task and “is well ready for this scenario. “
Despite the preparation, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said the transition will have a “drastic” effect on the EU and not on anything on Russia.
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One of the worst affected countries is Moldova, which is not part of the EU and was once part of the Soviet Union.
The country said on Wednesday it will need to introduce measures to reduce its gas use by a third while the breakaway region of Transnistria – which is pro-Russian – said it has cut heating and hot water to households, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.
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The end of the deal will also prove to be dear to Ukraine. The country faces the loss of about $800 million ($637 million) according to the year in Russia’s energy transit costs.