Ukraine halts transport of Russian gas through its territory

Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Ukraine says it has stopped Russia from transporting natural gas through its territory as of early New Year's Day out of interest for its national security.

Ukraine's Ministry of Energy announced that it stopped the transport of Russian gas at 7 a.m. local time.

"We stopped the transit of Russian gas, this is a historic event," energy minister Herman Galushchenko said in a statement. "Russia is losing markets, it will suffer financial losses. Europe has already made a decision to abandon Russian gas.

"And the European initiative Repower EU provides for exactly what Ukraine has done today."

The move comes with the expiration of an agreement between Ukraine's natural gas company -- GTS Operator of Ukraine -- and the Russia's Gazprom that was reached on Dec. 30, 2019. The agreement continued to allow Russian gas to enter through the eastern border of Ukraine from the Russian town Sudzha.

Russia's natural gas would then transport west into Europe, accounting for about 5% of the continent's supply. The gas route had been used for decades.

"The GTS operator of Ukraine has prepared the infrastructure in advance for operation in the zero transit mode and reliable gas supply to Ukrainian consumers," Dmytro Lippa, general director of the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System Operator, said in a statement. "The company's staff is ready to work in new conditions."

Gazprom also acknowledged the end of the agreement, saying Ukraine refused to extend it.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked an international energy crisis, driving up costs globally. Slovakia is among the nation's hit the hardest. Its largest gas utility company is warning that it will pay an estimated $93 million more per year to secure a stable supply of energy following the end of the Ukraine-Russia agreement.

Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski applauded Ukraine's decision to block Russian natural gas, calling it "another victory" in a post on X.

"Today Ukraine cut off [Russia's] ability to export gas direct to the EU. Another victory after the enlargement of NATO by Finland and Sweden," Sikorski posted.