Kiev plans to halt oil transportation from Russia by year's end.
After nearly two and a half years since the onset of the invasion, Ukrainian soil continues to serve as a passageway for Russian oil in a transit pipeline. Nations like Hungary hold substantial interests in this matter. However, Kyiv has declared that this practice will cease by year's end. Mikhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian President's office, confirmed this in an interview with Nowyny.Live. The contracts, valid until January 1, 2025, cannot be terminated unilaterally by Ukraine. Podolyak stated, "Of course, as of January 1, 2025, it will all come to an end." From January 2025 onwards, Ukraine intends to facilitate the transit of gas from Central Asian or Azeri nations to Europe. The primary objective for Ukraine is to curb Russia's income derived from selling these resources.
The contract for Russian gas transit through Ukraine to Europe between the state-owned companies Gazprom and Naftogaz expires on December 31, 2024. Regardless of Moscow initiating the invasion over two years ago, the contract has been honored so far, largely due to pressure from Ukraine's European allies, particularly Hungary. However, Kyiv has consistently expressed its intentions of not renewing this contract, a stance reaffirmed recently by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russian oil has been flowing through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The northern branch of the pipeline leading to Germany has been largely idle due to Western sanctions against Russian oil. Russian media outlets report that the Kazakh subsidiary of the energy provider Eni began pumping oil from the Caspian Sea through the pipeline in August. This arrangement allows Russia to collect transit revenues without being able to sell its own oil to the most prosperous market, Europe, for the country.
The European Union, being a significant energy market, has played a role in pressuring Ukraine to honor the gas transit contract with Russia, despite Kyiv's intentions to halt this practice. In the future, Ukraine aims to facilitate gas transit from Central Asian or Azeri nations to Europe, thus reducing Russia's income derived from these resources, which is a primary objective of Ukraine's foreign energy policy within the European Union.
