MYKOLAIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – The transit route for Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine is still functioning, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Thursday after reports of hostilities at the Sudzha gas transit station.
He said Russia has not contacted Ukraine about the situation regarding gas transit.
Russia said on Wednesday it was fighting heavy fighting against Ukrainian forces who had penetrated the border near the main transmission hub at Sudzha, in one of the largest incursions into Russian territory since the start of the war.
The Sudzha gas transfer and metering stations in the Kursk region of Russia are the only access point for Russian natural gas to the Ukrainian gas transmission system for onward transportation to Europe.
The Ukrainian gas transporter told Reuters earlier on Thursday that Russian natural gas would continue to flow normally via Ukraine to Europe.
Later, the operator said Russia’s Gazprom (MCX:) plans to ship about 41.7 million cubic meters of gas via Ukraine on Friday, up from 37.25 million cubic meters of gas planned on Thursday.
In May 2022, at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian transit operator stopped transporting gas on an alternative branch line through the Sokhranivka transit point, close to the Luhansk region in the east.
Ukraine said Russian forces have begun transporting gas through Ukraine to two Russian-backed separatist regions in the east of the country.
After the closure of Sokhranivka, transit volumes fell by a quarter as Gazprom said it could not divert volumes to Sudzha.
The agreement on Russian gas transit to Europe via Ukraine expires in 2024, and Kiev has said it has no plans to renew it or strike a new deal.
