Russian gas deliveries through Ukraine, utilizing the region's oldest transit pipeline to Europe, ceased entirely on Wednesday following the expiration of the 2019 transit agreements. Russian energy giant Gazprom confirmed the stoppage, citing Ukraine's refusal to renew the contracts.

"Due to the repeated and clearly expressed refusal of the Ukrainian side to renew these agreements, Gazprom was deprived of the technical and legal ability to supply gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine from January 1, 2025," Gazprom said in a statement on Telegram. The flow was halted at 8 a.m. Moscow time, mirroring an announcement from Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine Celebrates a "Historic Event"

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko called the halt a "historic event," marking the end of Russian gas transit through the country. "Russia is losing its markets and will suffer financial losses. Europe has already made the decision to abandon Russian gas," Galushchenko said in a statement.

Ukraine has not purchased Russian gas since 2015, a year after Russia’s annexation of Crimea. However, it had continued to act as a transit country for Russian gas heading to Europe. Kyiv had stated that it would not renew the contracts while Russia’s invasion continued unless a provision for delayed or frozen payments to Gazprom was arranged — a proposal critics dismissed as impractical.

Impact on Europe

The cessation of gas transit has mixed consequences for European countries. Slovakia, a major EU and NATO member dependent on this route, has voiced strong criticism. Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico described the halt as a significant blow to the EU while claiming it would not affect Russia as much.

Fico had sought extensions to the contracts through both EU summits and direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite his objections, Slovakia reports sufficient gas reserves to avoid immediate disruptions. Slovakian transit company Eustream confirmed on Wednesday that supply via Ukraine from Russia had stopped.

Non-EU member Moldova, another major user of the pipeline, warned of potential gas usage reductions by up to a third.

Meanwhile, Central European countries like Hungary and Serbia remain largely unaffected as they receive gas through the TurkStream undersea pipeline.

Economic and Geopolitical Ramifications

Ukraine now faces the loss of approximately $800 million annually in transit fees. Gazprom is set to lose close to $5 billion in annual sales.

The EU, while significantly reducing its reliance on Russian gas since the invasion of Ukraine, still sourced 14.8% of its total gas supply from Russia in 2023, down from 47% in 2021.

Russian gas exports to Europe have been sharply reduced in recent years. The Nord Stream pipeline was sabotaged in 2022, the Yamal-Europe pipeline via Belarus has been shut, and now the Ukraine route has ceased. In 2023, Russia delivered just 15 billion cubic meters of gas through Ukraine, a steep decline from the 65 billion cubic meters at the start of the 2020 contract.

This marks yet another step in Europe’s shift away from Russian energy, aligning with its stated goal of eventual energy independence from Moscow.