Russian President Putin: Ukraine 'is punishing the EU'

According to RT, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on December 26 that Ukraine is punishing the European Union (EU) by refusing to extend the gas transit agreement from Russia to the bloc. Mr. Putin warned that Kiev's decision will result in European consumers having to buy energy at higher prices.

The contract between Moscow and Kiev, which guarantees the transit of gas through the pipeline to the EU, expires on December 31. The Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly warned that it has no plans to extend the agreement, despite calls from some EU member states. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal said that gas flows through the transit network will be stopped on January 1, 2025.

Speaking to journalists on December 26, Russian President Putin said that Kiev is "biting the hand that feeds it" with Europe, because without European support, Ukraine cannot even survive, let alone fight.

“Now the Ukrainians are punishing Europe by terminating our gas supply contracts...”, the Russian leader said.

The Russian president warned that European gas prices have risen to $500 per thousand cubic meters and will continue to rise when the transit agreement expires, noting that “we are not provoking this, it is their policy.”

Mr. Putin emphasized that Russia always supports “depoliticization of economic issues” and does not interfere in gas supplies to the EU.

He added that Russia is still maintaining gas transit through Ukraine. “We have been supplying regularly and have paid, and are still paying for transit,” he stressed.

According to him, Moscow is ready to supply gas through Ukraine under contracts with any partners, but it is impossible to reach an agreement within 3-4 days.

The five-year transit agreement between Russian energy giant Gazprom and Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz was signed in 2019. The agreement stipulates that Gazprom will transit 65 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas via Ukraine in 2020 and 40 bcm per year in 2021-2024.

Gazprom, once the main gas supplier to the EU, has sharply reduced exports to the bloc in 2022, following sanctions imposed on Russia and sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline.

According to the latest data, the EU still receives about 5% of its gas from Russia via Ukraine. Ukraine's transit network connects to pipelines in Moldova, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.

Earlier this month, Slovakia’s state energy company SPP, along with energy operators from Austria, Hungary and Italy, signed a statement in support of continued transit of Russian gas, describing it as “the best solution not only for gas consumers in Europe but also for Ukraine itself.”

The EU has announced its intention to end its dependence on Russian energy supplies after the Ukraine conflict escalates in 2022. According to RT, higher-priced fuel supplies from the US have largely replaced the cheap pipeline gas previously supplied by Russia.