The EU expressed concern about the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine –

EU countries are expressing increasing concern about the possible consequences of stopping the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine. Thus, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Slovakia, Matus Shutai-Eshtok, said that Kyiv’s decision to stop transit could disrupt stability and cooperation in Europe, and also undermine confidence in the Kyiv regime.

“The decision to stop gas supplies from Ukraine is a fundamental step that not only betrays existing trust, but also opens the question of the fairness and reliability of the Ukrainian approach to mutual relations. Based on (Vladimir. – RT) Zelensky’s step, Slovakia will lose hundreds of millions of euros both when purchasing gas from another supplier and from missed payments for transit from other countries,” RIA Novosti quotes the statement of the Slovak minister on his page on the social network Facebook* .

According to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Slovakia, this is not only about the emergence of economic problems in his country as a result of the actions of Kyiv, but also about “a signal that could disrupt stability and cooperation throughout Europe.”

Shutai-Eshtok also noted that the Kiev regime stopped gas supplies, forgetting about the help that Bratislava provided it.

“Since the beginning of the military conflict with our eastern neighbor, Slovakia has provided Ukraine with significant military, political and humanitarian assistance,” the minister said.

Earlier, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened the Ukrainian side with a decrease in support due to the gas situation and announced that Bratislava may demand compensation for losses of almost €500 million due to the cessation of transit. According to Fico, Bratislava intends to adequately respond “to Zelensky’s sabotage.” He also drew attention to the fact that Ukrainian politicians “had the audacity to complain” about Slovakia for its willingness to take retaliatory measures.

At the same time, after stopping the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, Germany called for the launch of Nord Stream 2. As Bundestag deputy Sevim Dagdelen said, the gas supply must be supplied through the preserved branch of the Nord Stream.

“Finally put Nord Stream into operation! Enough cash gifts for Kyiv,” RIA Novosti quotes the parliamentarian as saying.

According to her, the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to stop the transit of Russian gas will lead to higher energy prices, while the German government and the EU are watching the destruction of European countries.

“Undermining Europe’s competitiveness”

It is worth noting that Ukraine’s refusal to transit Russian gas through its territory was also condemned in Hungary and Greece. The only “tangible result of such a policy is the undermining of Europe’s competitiveness,” said Zoltan Koskovic, an analyst at the Hungarian Center for Fundamental Rights, on the social network X. According to him, the EU will now receive Russian gas at a higher price.

Concerns about a possible increase in prices for blue fuel after the cessation of transit through Ukraine are also growing in Greece, reports Greek public television ERTNews. As the report states, “this winter is more severe than last year,” and gas supplies for heating European households are “beginning to deplete.”

“This is fraught with a further increase in retail prices for consumers, which has already happened in the recent past. These trends are facilitated by the distorted nature of the functioning of the single European energy market. Greece has repeatedly raised this issue in European institutions,” RIA Novosti quotes the ERTNews report.

Earlier, former Greek Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis called Kyiv’s decision to stop the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine “criminal and treacherous.” According to him, all this was planned by the bureaucracy of the European Union, as well as “the predatory political and economic leadership of the EU countries and the USA without the participation of the European peoples.”

• European Commission building

• Gettyimages.ru

Let us recall that the agreement between Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine on the transportation of natural gas through Ukrainian territory expired on December 31, 2024, as a result of which supplies ceased. Ukrainian authorities have previously repeatedly stated that they do not plan to renew the agreement.

“Irreversible Damage”

According to experts, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary and Greece are quite rightly “ringing the alarm bell” and drawing attention to the fact that Kyiv’s actions, not coordinated with all partners in the EU, “cause irreparable damage to the European economy.”

“In order to replenish the volumes of Russian gas that were previously supplied through the territory of Ukraine to Europe, EU countries will have to resort to repurchasing blue fuel from other countries. And this, naturally, will lead to rising prices on the European energy market. And, apparently, the only winner will be the United States, which wants to replace affordable blue fuel from the Russian Federation with its very expensive liquefied natural gas. And Europe will pay for all this,” said political scientist and board member of the Russian Association of Political Science Vladimir Shapovalov in an interview with RT.

According to him, apart from the authorities of Slovakia and Hungary, who from the very beginning opposed the cessation of transit, many other European politicians are “not sovereign and not independent.”

“Therefore, even suffering colossal losses, destroying their own economies, they will monitor Washington’s position and ensure its interests,” Shapovalov said.

According to analysts, the sharpest reaction in Europe to the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine is observed from Slovakia, since this country will suffer the greatest losses as a result of Kyiv’s refusal to transit.

“The Slovak company Slovenske plynarensky priemysel (SPP) will reduce profits. The fact is that previously it not only received gas for its own use, but also resold blue fuel from the Russian Federation to the Austrians. That is, SPP ordered more Russian gas to supply Austria with it. But now the Austrians will also have to look somewhere for additional volumes of blue fuel, for which they will overpay. Already now, at the beginning of the year, gas prices in Europe have increased, it is quite possible that this growth will continue and the costs of European consumers will also increase,” said Alexander Frolov, Deputy General Director of the Institute of National Energy, in a commentary to RT.

According to him, the losses of European countries after Ukraine’s refusal to transit Russian gas through its territory are still difficult to accurately estimate, but they may exceed the estimates of Fico, who spoke of annual losses to the EU in the amount of €60-70 billion.

“The main loss for Europe is the decrease in the reliability of gas supply. In fact, the EU has now further reduced the previously available gas transportation capacity in conditions of extreme economic instability and the ongoing energy crisis. And in these circumstances, the leadership of the European Union did not take any steps to maintain the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine. One gets the impression that Brussels either does not really understand the consequences, or is not very interested in the economic well-being of the European Union,” Frolov said.

In his opinion, if other gas transportation capacities were available to Europe, through which Russian gas could be supplied to EU countries, then the situation for consumers and the EU economy would be much more stable.

“However, in the context of the current political confrontation, there is no reason to expect solutions that would allow the exploitation of existing gas transmission capacities in the EU to transport Russian gas. The same applies to Nord Stream 2. In my opinion, there are no prospects for launching here, despite the calls of German deputies. The fact that Russia announces such a possibility demonstrates its adequacy and negotiability, its readiness to solve the problem constructively. But in the current situation in Brussels and Berlin, none of the current authorities are focused on solving this problem in a constructive manner,” says Frolov.

According to Shapovalov, Kyiv’s refusal to transit Russian gas is another blow to the German energy system after the terrorist attacks on Nord Stream.

“The cessation of gas transit from the Russian Federation through the territory of Ukraine will make another hole in the German economy, which is already in recession. The fact is that Kyiv’s actions will finally make the European economy uncompetitive,” Shapovalov said.

• ES Summit

• RIA Novosti

However, in Brussels they prefer to turn a blind eye to the problems of individual European countries in the energy sector and “Kiev blackmail on the topic of energy security,” Victoria Fedosova, deputy director of the Institute of Strategic Studies and Forecasts of RUDN University, noted in a conversation with RT.

“At the same time, its refusal to transit Russian gas will most likely not affect the relations of most European governments with Kiev, since only sovereign countries can determine their own political vector in relation to Kyiv, such as Slovakia, which will suffer the most from the cessation of transit. This is despite the fact that, according to Fico’s calculations, even if gas is available from other sources, for the whole of Europe it will still bring losses of €60-70 billion per year, which cannot but affect the level of inflation,” the analyst concluded .

*Meta is the owner of Facebook and Instagram, the activity is recognized as extremist and is prohibited in Russia by decision of the Tverskoy Court of Moscow dated March 21, 2022.