The repercussions of stopping the transportation of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine have begun to appear, especially in Slovakia and Moldova, while sparking reactions on the Old Continent.
On the first day of the New Year, the Russian state energy company Gazprom announced the suspension of the transportation of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe as planned.
She added, in a statement via the Telegram application, that “the Russian company does not have any legal or technical means to pump gas through Ukraine due to the leadership in Kiev not renewing the gas transportation contract.”
Slovak Prime Minister warns
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Vetso said that stopping gas transportation through Ukraine would have a “severe” impact on European Union countries, not Russia.
The pro-Russian Vetso has repeatedly warned that stopping gas transit will cost Slovakia hundreds of millions of euros as a result of loss of transit revenues and increased gas import fees from other parties.
He added that this would also lead to higher gas and electricity prices in Europe.
The Slovak government condemned Kiev for not extending the agreement, while assuring residents that its gas storage facilities are 100% full, and that it has sufficient reserves for the winter period.
For his part, the Slovak Prime Minister, who is accused by critics of taking a pro-Russian stance, threatened to stop electricity supplies from Slovakia to Ukraine.
But SBB, the company that dominates gas imports in Slovakia, confirmed, after it stopped receiving Russian gas, that it had prepared for the situation and would supply all its customers via alternative routes, mainly via a pipeline from Germany and Hungary, but it would face additional costs due to transportation fees.
Austrian readiness
The Austrian government confirmed on Wednesday that Vienna was prepared for the expiration of the gas transportation agreement between Russia and Ukraine, and that supplies to the country were continuing through other sources such as feeding points in Germany or Italy and from storage facilities.
Austrian Energy Minister Leonora Gevsler said: “We did our duty and were well prepared for this scenario… Austria is no longer dependent on Russian gas, and that is a good thing.”
There is no heating or hot water in Moldova
The breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova cut off heating and hot water supplies to homes on Wednesday after it stopped receiving gas from Russia.
Reuters quoted an employee at the local energy company Tiraspol Energy, saying from the main city of Tiraspol in the region: “No heating or hot water,” adding that she did not know how long this situation would last.
The Transnistria region is loyal to Russia and separated from the rest of Moldova after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It used to receive Russian gas via Ukraine, but this supply route stopped today, Wednesday, with the expiration of the gas transportation agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
The energy company said in a statement on its website that the heating was cut off at seven in the morning, Wednesday, local time, but some facilities such as hospitals will not witness an outage.
It advised residents to wear heavy clothes, gather family members in one room, hang thick blankets or curtains on windows and balcony doors, and use electric heaters.
The company said: “It is forbidden to use gas or electric stoves to heat the apartment, as this may lead to a tragedy.”
There is generally peace between Transnistria and Moldova since a short war broke out after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, and about 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed in the region.
Appeal to the Parliament of Transnistria
The Transnistrian Parliament appealed to the Kremlin and the Russian Parliament last month to reach a new agreement with Ukraine that would allow gas supplies to continue, and Moscow said at the time that it would protect its citizens and soldiers in the region.
Russia was supplying Moldova with about two billion cubic meters of gas annually, which it pumped through Transnistria, until the expiration of the agreement to transport gas through Ukraine.
Moldova accuses Russia of exploiting its dependence on it in the field of energy in order to destabilize it, which Moscow denies.
It is noteworthy that the giant Russian gas company Gazprom said last Saturday that it would suspend its exports to Moldova as of 05:00 GMT on January 1, 2025 due to unpaid debts from Moldova, which will face severe electricity outages.
Russia says Moldova must pay its debts for previous supplies.
According to Russian accounts, the debt amounts to $709 million, while Moldova has set the debt at $8.6 million.
losses
Some estimates indicate that cutting the gas transportation line through Ukraine will cause Russia to incur losses worth $6 billion annually, while Ukraine will lose about $250 million that it recently received from Gazprom for transit fees.
