Ukraine to Halt Transit of Russian Gas to the EU Due to Russia's Non-Compliance with Contract, - Naftogaz

Ukraine has no plans to extend the contract for the transit of Russian gas through its territory to the EU after its expiration at the end of 2024. Russia has not fulfilled its obligations under this contract in full, paying 'no more than 70%' of what it should have and also prepared to 'terminate the existing contract with Gazprom prematurely at any moment.'

This was stated by the CEO of Naftogaz, Oleksiy Chernyshov, in an interview with Radio Svoboda.

He noted that an extension of the contract is possible if requested by EU countries, but there are no signs of such a request at present.

'This agreement will conclude by the end of 2024, and we have no intentions or initiatives to renew it (…). We will not initiate the extension of this transit. The contract will expire – the transit will stop,' said the official.

Chernyshov stated that Ukraine is currently continuing the transit of Russian gas to Europe through its territory during a full-scale war 'solely to support our European colleagues.'

'There are no other reasons, but today, we cannot deprive certain EU countries, which are, by the way, our partners, of the opportunity to receive natural gas and prepare for the winter (…). Especially countries that do not have access to the seas. And today, they need this volume,' Chernyshov pointed out.

'I personally had talks with the European Union, with the European Commission's relevant leaders regarding this issue, and we do not feel any signals to Naftogaz or Ukraine about extending this transit,' added the head of Naftogaz.

Chernyshov reminded that the EU plans to completely abandon Russian gas by 2027 and highlighted steps taken by the bloc toward reducing overall natural gas consumption, including Russian gas.

In early October, the European Commission reported a significant reduction in the impact of Russian energy supplies on Europe.

It was previously announced that four European countries would receive gas from Qatar. These countries are Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and France.

It should be noted that European Union countries have stockpiled a record amount of natural gas in storage facilities for the upcoming heating season of 2023-2024. This will protect Europe from any energy-related problems or the risk of gas shortages or price spikes seen in the previous year.