by Pavel Polityuk and Susanna Twidale
Kyiv/LONDON (Reuters) – Ukraine said on Tuesday it would stop gas flow through a crossing point and supply about a third of the fuel transported from Russia to Europe via Ukraine, blaming Moscow for the measure and urging Russia to act. . flows elsewhere.
Ukraine remains an important transit route for Russian gas to reach Europe, even after the invasion of Moscow.
GTSOU, which operates Ukraine’s gas system, said it would halt shipments via the Sokhranivka route from Wednesday, declaring “force majeure”, a clause that occurs when a company is hit by something beyond its control.
But Gazprom, which has a monopoly on gas exports via Russia’s pipeline, said it was “technologically impossible” to transfer all volumes to the Sudzha port further west, as the GTSOU suggested.
Sergiy Makogon, CEO of GTSOU, told Reuters that Russian occupation forces have begun taking gas passing through Ukraine and sending it to two Russian-backed separatist areas in the east of the country. He did not provide evidence.
The company added that it will not be able to operate at the Novopskov gas compressor station due to “occupation forces’ interference in technical processes” and may temporarily move the affected stream to the Ukrainian-controlled Sudzha physical port. area..
Yuriy Vitrenko, head of state-owned energy company Naftogaz, told Reuters that Ukraine’s suspension of Russian gas flow through the Sokhranivka route is unlikely to have an impact on the Ukrainian domestic market.
source: Noticias
