Gazprom reduces gas exports to Europe via Ukraine Economy

The Russian gas company Gazprom will reduce the amount of gas it intends to send today to Europe via Ukraine to 42.2 million cubic meters, compared to 42.4 million cubic meters yesterday, Saturday.

This comes at a time when the frequency of attacks between Russia and Ukraine on each other’s energy facilities has increased. Today, Saturday, Reuters quoted two unnamed Russian officials as saying that Ukraine launched dozens of drones during the night and targeted a number of Russian regions without any reports of damage. .

Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said – via the Telegram application – that at least 23 drones were destroyed over the region located in western Russia on the border with Ukraine.

Vasily Anokhin, governor of the Smolensk region located in western Russia, also stated that Russian air defense systems destroyed drones over the region, and it was not clear how many drones were destroyed.

8 attacks

Yesterday, the agency quoted officials as saying that Russia launched a new barrage of missiles and drones that damaged energy facilities in southeastern and western Ukraine, injured at least two workers in energy facilities, and forced Ukraine to import electricity at a record pace.

Ukrainian energy grid operator Ukraingo said that equipment at its facilities in the Zaporozhye regions in the southeast and Lviv in the west were damaged by the strikes.

She added that two workers in the Zaporozhye region were injured and taken to hospital.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy said that the Russian attack also hit a gas infrastructure facility in the west of the country.

The ministry added – in a statement – “After 8 major attacks launched by the enemy on the electricity system since last March, the situation in the energy sector remains difficult.”

At the end of last January, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Moscow is ready to hold talks with the European Union regarding natural gas supplies before the end of an agreement with Ukraine to transport gas in late 2024.

Under a 5-year agreement concluded by Moscow with Kiev in 2019, Russia exports gas to Europe via Ukraine in exchange for fees for using a pipeline network.

Ukraine remains an important route for Gazprom’s gas flows to the European Union, despite the Russia-Ukraine war.