'Not a single molecule': Ukraine's PM names time when Ukraine will cut off Russian gas
Prime minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal during an hour of questions to the government said Ukraine would stop transiting Russian gas at 7 a.m. on January 1, 2025, because a five-year contract is coming to an end.
“Ukraine's position is very clear: we consistently advocate sanctions against Russian assets and resources, both gas and oil. We are against any support for the aggressor through the sale of Russian gas or oil molecules,” he said.
According to him, this is the position of the President of Ukraine, and this is the position of the government of Ukraine.
“Today we understand that the gas transit agreement expires on January 1, 2025. At 7 a.m., the transit will be physically blocked due to the completion of this agreement,” the prime minister said.
Shmyhal added that the resumption of transit would be possible at the European Commission if it is not Russian gas.
At the same time, Shmyhal said that Ukraine is forced to continue transiting Russian oil following the European Energy Charter Treaty.
“For now, we cannot violate the Association Agreement. In this regard, technically, the company continues transit at the request of the European side. But we are working to impose 100% sanctions on Russian molecules,” he added.
Gas and oil transit
After the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, any trade with Russia is prohibited. The only exception is oil and gas transit.
The current transit agreement between Naftogaz of Ukraine and Russia's Gazprom was signed at the end of 2019 for five years. Despite the war, Ukraine has allowed Russian gas to pass through its territory to countries such as Austria, Slovakia, Italy, and Hungary.
In November, Naftogaz of Ukraine received the last tranche of payment from Gazprom for December gas transit under the contract. Gazprom was supposed to pay about $70 million for December transit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the termination of transit from 2025 and emphasized that Ukraine would not allow Russia to earn additional billions on the blood of Ukrainians, so Russian gas transit would be stopped.
After that, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that Slovakia might consider retaliatory measures against Ukraine if it did not continue gas transit from Russia to Europe.
