Russia-Ukraine War
Russia-Ukraine War
Russia-Ukraine War
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A transnational pipeline was shut down on Wednesday after Kyiv refused to renew a prewar agreement that allowed for the transit of Russian gas through its territory.
By Marc Santora, Andrew Higgins and Jenny Gross
Marc Santora reported from Kyiv, Ukraine, Andrew Higgins from Warsaw and Jenny Gross from Brussels.
The flow of natural gas through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe was cut off early Wednesday after Ukraine refused to renew an agreement that allowed for the transit of Russian gas through its territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned for months that he would not renew the pre-war contract, which expired on December 31, due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Kyiv’s decision to suspend fuel supplies through a pipeline that carried Soviet and then Russian fuel to Europe for decades is part of a broader crusade through Ukraine and its Western allies to undermine Moscow’s ability to fund its war effort and restrict the Kremlin’s ability. as a lever in Europe.
“This is a historic event,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said in a statement. “Russia is wasting markets, it will suffer monetary losses. “
The pipeline through Ukraine, built in Soviet times to send Siberian fuel to European markets, is Russia’s last main fuel room to Europe after the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany, in all likelihood through Ukraine, and the closure of a road through Belarus in Poland.
The Kremlin-controlled energy giant, Gazprom, issued a statement early on Wednesday confirming that it was no longer sending gas through the pipeline. President Vladimir V. Putin had signaled in a Dec. 19 news conference that the agreement would not be extended. “That’s fine — we will survive, Gazprom will survive,” he said.
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