Russian gas transit through Ukraine halted after more than five decades

Deliveries of Russian gas via Ukraine to Europe stopped at 8 a.m. Moscow time on January 1, Gazprom said, after the five-year transit contract signed in 2019 expired. Ukraine had said it would not extend it while the war continues.

About 15 billion cubic metres of gas passed through the Ukrainian system in 2024, far less than before the invasion. The main remaining buyers were Slovakia, Austria and Hungary, as well as Moldova and specifically the separatist region of Transnistria, where central heating to households was cut off because of the halt.

A loss for Moscow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the halt one of Moscow's biggest defeats, as Russia loses sales revenue while Ukraine gives up transit fees. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned of higher costs and threatened countermeasures against Kyiv.