European Energy Crisis Fears Rekindled as Ukraine Blocks Gas From Russia
/ Go to the mediabankGas wells of Gazprom on the Kovykta gas field.
Supplies of Russian gas via Ukraine ended at 8:00 a.m. Moscow time (05:00 GMT) on January 1, according to a contractual document on gas transit between Gazprom and Naftogaz. The Kiev regime had repeatedly stated it had no intention to extend the transit agreement.Fears of a new energy crisis have been rekindled in Europe with the end of Russian gas supply through Ukraine. The winding down of cheap and reliable Russian gas transit will fuel energy costs, inflationary pressures, and the cost-of-living crisis, experts cited by Xinhua have warned. “If there is a crisis in energy supply, Europe will be the most affected and this will weaken its economic power even more,” Croatian political analyst Robert Frank noted.The cessation of Russian gas transit “will likely intensify cost pressures for Slovenian industries, and by extension, raise consumer prices,” stressed Joze P. Damijan, professor of economics at the University of Ljubljana.Europe still hasn’t recovered from its shortsighted move to drastically cut its dependence on Russian gas, which had triggered a massive spike in inflation and economic slowdown. Gazprom ended gas transit through Ukraine on January 1 following the expiration of the five-year contract with Naftogaz. The Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline had transported about 15.5 billion cubic meters of gas last year, accounting for approximately 4.5% of the total gas consumption in the EU, according to Gazprom. Moldova and four EU countries – Slovakia, Austria, Italy, and the Czech Republic – received Russian gas via this route. Balkan Stream, fed by the Turkish Stream pipeline, now remains the only source of Russian pipeline gas for Europe. It delivers gas to Romania, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Hungary.
WorldMajor Winners and Losers of Halting Russian Gas Transit Through Ukraine29 December 2024, 16:58 GMT
