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Ukraine Halts Russian Gas to Europe 2 Years After Nord Stream 1 and 2 Pipelines Blown Up [1]
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Date: 2025-01-02
On Sept. 26, 2022, a series of explosions destroyed sections of 3 of the four pipelines of the under water Baltic Sea, Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipeline sets. Russia then cutoff the gas in the last remaining link.
No evidence was found to link the explosions to saboteurs, although Germany issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian individual in August, 2024. An investigation by three German media outlets said a team of Ukrainian divers hired a German yacht and used it to get over the pipelines, plant the explosives and blow up the pipes.
Russia had asked the United Nations for an international investigation, but was voted down by the Security Council. Denmark, Germany and Sweden ran their own investigations.
Most of the remaining gas links from Russia to Europe runs through Ukraine, most of it built when it was part of the Soviet Union.
The 5 year deal between Russia and Ukraine and Russia, where Ukraine was paid transit fees, even during the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, ended January 1, 2025.
Ukraine has turned off the flow of the gas, which has been generating revenues for Russia through the Russian company Gazprom, even as the war continued.
At a summit in Brussels last month, Ukrainian President Volodimyr Zelenskyy vowed that Kyiv would not allow Moscow to use the transits to earn "additional billions... on our blood on the lives of our citizens." But he briefly held out the possibility of the the gas flows continuing if payments to Russia were withheld until the end of the war.
A great idea of Zelenskyy's, but there is no way Russia would supply the gas without prompt payment.
Russia's Gazprom said in a statement Wednesday morning that it has "no technical or legal possibility" of sending gas through Ukraine, due to Kyiv's refusal to extend the deal.
Not exactly positive for a company losing it's major source of funding. I think what they meant to say is instead of possibility, responsibility. Russian government is probably not too pleased about it either.
Before the war, Russia supplied nearly 40% of the European Union's pipeline natural gas. Gas flowed through four pipeline systems, one under the Baltic Sea, one through Belarus and Poland, one through Ukraine, and one under the Black Sea to Turkey through Bulgaria. After the war started, Russia cut off most supplies through the Baltic and Belarus-Poland pipelines, citing a demand for payment in Rubles.
Then the Nord Stream Baltic Sea pipelines were blown up.
The Russian cut off caused an energy crisis in Europe. Germany had to shell out billions of euros to set up floating terminals to import liquefied natural gas, which comes by ship… Norway and the U.S. filled the gap to become the two largest suppliers. Europe... plans to completely eliminate Russian gas Imports by 2027.
Slovakia (in 2024) inked deals to begin buying natural gas from Azerbaijan and also to import U.S. liquefied natural gas through a pipeline from Poland.
Moldova has been getting it's natural gas by pipeline through Ukraine. Gazprom was going to cut off their gas anyway on Jan. 1 because of payments owed, which Moldova denied owing.
Moldova, Ukraine and EU politicians have repeatedly accused Moscow of weaponizing energy supplies.
Transnistria, which broke away from Moldova in 1992, and just not recognized by most countries, declared its own state of emergency... a large portion of Transnistria population speak Russian as their first language, and some 200,000 are Russian citizens.
There could be a humanitarian crisis for Transnistria with no light, gas and no hot water.
Moldovan president Maya Sandu said, "The Kremlin is again using energy blackmail in an attempt to destabilize the situation, to influence the 2025 parliamentary elections and to undermine our European journey."
Moldova has repeatedly claimed that Russia is conducting a "hybrid war" by meddling in elections, funding anti-government protests, and running vast disinformation campaigns to try to topple the government and derail the countries EU aspirations.
Moscow can still send gas to Hungary, as well as non-EU states Turkey and Serbia, through the Turkstream pipeline across the Black Sea.
Last year, Gazprom showed a $6.9 billion loss, it's first and more than 20 years, due to diminished sales to Europe. That's despite its efforts to boost exports to new buyer China. Ukraine now faces the loss of $800 million in transit fees from Russia, while Gazprom is losing $5 billion in sales.
Last week, private Ukrainian utility company DTEK, said that it received its first shipment of liquified natural gas from the United States, to be delivered through a newly expanded network spanning six countries from Greece to Ukraine, and marking a significant step and reducing regional dependence on Russian energy.
There are countries like Moldova that will be hard hit, but Europe has been preparing for this turn off of the Ukrainian pipelines since the war with Russia began.
Lenore Gewessler, Austria's Minister for Climate and Energy has announced that her country is no longer reliant on Russian gas, "and that's a good thing.... Ukraine made it clear early on that it would not redo its transit contract with the aggressor state, Russia. We prepared thoroughly for this scenario and were ready."
The 40% of Russian gas used by Europe in 2021 dropped to 10% in 2023.
Last Friday, Slovakia's Prime Minister, Robert Fico, who had just made a surprise visit to Moscow, threatened to stop supplying electricity to Ukraine.
"Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia's attempts to cause more suffering for Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said.
Poland has said that they will supply Ukraine with electricity in the eventuality that Slovakia goes through with its threat.
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