Ukraine refuses to extend transit gas pipeline contract
Some parts of Moldova suffered from heating and hot water interruptions.
There will be no significant impact for most EU countries.
Russian natural gas, which has been supplied to European countries through Ukraine, has been cut off since the first day of the new year, and a ‘heating crisis’ is spreading in Moldova, a country bordering Ukraine. In particular, in some areas of Moldova, heating and hot water supply were cut off, forcing residents to look for firewood and families to gather in one room.
According to the Associated Press on the 1st, the gas supplied by Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom to European countries through a gas pipeline passing through Ukraine was cut off this morning. Even after Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine did not block Russian gas from being supplied to Europe through gas pipelines passing through Ukraine in accordance with existing contracts with Russia. However, before the contract expired, they refused to extend it and stopped supply.
Before the outbreak of the Ukraine War, the routes through which Russian gas was supplied to Europe were the gas pipeline passing through Ukraine, the ‘Nord Stream’ leading to Germany through the bottom of the Baltic Sea, the ‘Yamal-Europe’ passing through Belarus and Poland, and the Black Sea. There were a total of 4, including the ‘Turk Stream’ going to Bulgaria via Turkye. However, after the war in Ukraine in February 2022, operations of the Nord Stream and Yamal-Europe gas pipelines were suspended. Additionally, as the Ukrainian gas pipeline has been shut down since the 1st, only Turkstream is continuing to operate. Turk Stream supplies gas to Hungary, which is a member of the European Union (EU) but is pro-Russian, as well as Turkye and Serbia, which are not part of the EU.
Most EU member states are preparing in advance for the disruption of Russian gas supply, and many predict that there will be no decisive blow. However, in the case of Moldova, there are many analyzes that it was not prepared because it was very dependent on Russian gas and had applied for EU membership but was not yet a member. In particular, it is reported that the damage caused by the interruption of gas supply is concentrated in Transnistria, a region that belongs to Moldova under international law, but where 1,500 Russian troops are stationed and pro-Russian separatist forces are active.
According to the BBC, Transnistrian authorities cut off gas for heating and hot water in general homes this morning and supplied gas only to essential facilities such as hospitals. An information phone line has even been set up to provide information on how to easily obtain firewood, an alternative fuel. Some predict that antipathy toward the central government of Moldova may increase in Transnistria.
Paris = Correspondent Jo Eun-ah [email protected]
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