Poland will help Ukraine if Slovakia cuts off electricity supply - Bloomberg

According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Polish government is ready to increase domestic electricity production to compensate for any imbalances that may arise in Ukraine's overloaded system if Slovakia decides to stop supplying.

Warsaw's assurances came amid an escalating dispute over the future transit of Russian gas through Ukraine. In particular, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened a few days ago that the country would stop supplying electricity needed by Ukraine during power outages, if necessary. And according to a senior official, the head of the Slovak government followed through on his threat and cut off the backup power supply for our country.

Bloomberg writes that nearly three years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Bratislava still depends on cheap gas from Gazprom, undermining EU efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy.

The newspaper also added that while the EU intends to cut off fossil fuel supplies from Russia by 2027, gas has not been part of the sanctions the bloc has imposed on Moscow since 222. This means that companies are still allowed to enter into contracts and continue imports if these agreements comply with current EU rules.

About a week ago, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine would stop transiting Russian gas at 7 a.m. on January 1, 2025. By that time, the five-year contract will come to an end.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated that he will not allow gas transit through the country from January, which benefits Russia's military machine. At the same time, he made it clear that he was open to transporting gas from countries other than Russia.