Fuel was passed through taps for a toll; biggest buyers are Austria, Slovakia and Hungary
Ukraine announced on Monday (Dec 30, 2024) the closure of the Russian gas tap that supplies the European Union. In response to the prolongation of the war between the country and Russia, the Ukrainian government did not renew the agreement that allowed the passage of Russian gas to countries in the European bloc via toll.
The end of the treaty was confirmed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said he was confident that state-owned Gazprom would not be badly affected. “We will survive, Gazprom will survive”, declared.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky had already said he would not renew the contract. On December 19, the president said his country would not allow Russia “make extra billions while continuing your aggressive war”.
It is still uncertain, however, how this will affect the supply situation in European Union countries that are unable to import fuel by sea. Austria, Hungary and Slovakia are still supplied by Russian gas that comes from Ukraine – and mainly these last two countries want to maintain their supplier.
In 2023, the European Union imported around US$1 billion (about R$6.19 billion) per month in Russian fossil fuels, according to the think tank Belgian.
Russia still accounted for 15% of the total gas imported by the bloc in 2023, according to the European Commission. However, it was behind Norway, the United States and African countries, with 30%, 19% and 14%, respectively. Most Russian gas flowed through pipelines in Ukraine and Turkey.
The biggest buyers of Russian gas in the European Union are Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Large energy consumers such as Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands import Russian fuel shipped by ship.
