Russian Lukoil oil stops flowing to Slovakia through Ukraine
Photo: Russian Lukoil oil has stopped flowing to Slovakia through Ukraine (Getty Images)
Ukraine has stopped the transit of oil from Russian company Lukoil to Slovakia. This will impact the operations of one of Slovakia's refineries, according to Maria Pavlusik, spokesperson for Slovakia's Ministry of Economy.
"According to information that we've received from Transpetrol, supplies of Russian oil to Slovakia haven't been halted. Information from Slovnaft indicates that the problem only concerns deliveries from a particular supplier, Russian company Lukoil, which has been included on the sanctions list by Ukraine," she said.
However, a long-term deficit in oil supply could negatively impact the operation of the refinery in Bratislava. Despite transitioning to alternative suppliers, two-thirds of the processed oil there is Russian.
According to Pavlusik, the ministry is already addressing the issue in cooperation with Ukrainian partners.
Background
Ukraine imposed sanctions against Lukoil as early as 2018, which included capital export bans, trade operation restrictions, and prohibitions on participation in privatization. In June of this year, these restrictions were expanded, affecting transit operations as well.
By the way, Ukraine's contract with Gazprom for gas transit to Europe expires at the end of 2024. Kyiv does not plan to renew it. For more details on this, see the material by RBC-Ukraine.
