Russian Gas Link to Europe Stops

Russia halted natural-gas flows to Europe via Ukraine, as Kyiv's refusal to extend a pipeline deal ended one of the last remaining energy links between Russia and what was once its biggest market.

- By GEorGI KANTCHEV AnpD LAURENCE NORMAN

A gas-transit deal using Soviet-era pipelines crisscrossing Ukraine expired at the end of 2024. Ukraine had said it wouldn't extend the deal because it was providing revenues that helped Moscow conduct its war in Ukraine.

Russian gas exporter Gazprom said it halted flows in the early hours of the new year as the deal expired.

"Due to the Ukrainian side's repeated and explicit refusal to extend these agreements, Gazprom was deprived of the technical and legal opportunity to supply gas for transit," the company said on Wednesday.

Ukraine hailed the halt to the flow of Russian gas, saying it would strike a blow against its enemy.

"This is a historical event.

Russia is losing markets, it will suffer financial losses," Energy Minister German Galushchenko of Ukraine said.

The end of the deal, brokered by the European Union in 2019, was long expected and will have limited impact on Europe's gas supplies-unlike earlier in the conflict when Russian gas stoppages upended European gas markets and unleashed a price surge for consumers and factories.