Ukraine, at the end of the contract which linked it to Gazprom, now refuses all transit of Russian gas

Vladimir Poutine et le PDG de Gazprom désormais bloqués par l'Ukraine. MAXPPP

Russian gas exports can no longer pass through Ukraine and therefore supply the European market.

Russian gas exports that transited through Ukraine ceased on Wednesday, marking the end of Russian domination over the European energy market, which has been forced to diversify its supplies since Moscow invaded Ukrainian territory in February 2022.

The sanctions targeting Russia did not prevent Russian gas from reaching Western Europe for almost three years, but Kyiv's refusal to renew the transit contract that linked it to Gazprom until Wednesday put an end to this situation.

This stoppage had been largely anticipated by the European authorities. It should not have a significant impact on the prices paid by European consumers, unlike in 2022, when the drop in Russian gas deliveries caused significant tensions on the supply front.

LNG instead

The last countries that were still supplied with Russian gas, such as Austria and Slovakia, have since found alternatives. Hungary will continue to supply itself from Russia by having Russian gas shipped via TurkStream, which operates two gas pipelines that cross the Black Sea.

In Transnistria, a Moldovan region under Moscow's control, heating and hot water supplies were cut off on Wednesday morning due to a lack of supplies.

In Brussels, the European Commission boasts of having anticipated the end of Russian gas deliveries. “The European gas infrastructure is flexible enough to supply gas that does not originate from Russia,” said a spokesperson for the European executive. “It has been expanded with new LNG (liquefied natural gas) capacities,” he added.