Russian gas continues to flow through Ukraine — EADaily, August 9, 2024 — Politics, Russia

The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine continues, despite the occupation of the Sudzha gas measuring station on the border in the Kursk region by the Ukrainian armed forces.

Despite the seizure of the GIS Suja by the Ukrainian armed forces, Gazprom’s supplies through Ukraine continue. According to the Ukrainian GTS operator, as of August 9, 38.45 million cubic meters will be delivered through the station, which remains the only transit route.

Part of the gas will go to Moldova, a significant part to Slovakia and other countries: Czech Republic, Austria and Italy. According to the Slovak operator Eustream, Ukraine received 1.45 million cubic meters of gas at the Velke Kapushany gas information network by 7.20 a.m. The gas days start at 6.00 a.m.

According to Eustream, daily deliveries of 35.25 million cubic metres are planned.

Since the seizure of the Zuya area, the transit of Russian gas has decreased, but only slightly – from an average of 42 million cubic meters per day. This is rather due to requests from European consumers to Gazprom.

Ukrainian transit accounts for more than 5% of European imports. For deliveries from Austria and Slovakia, the figure is more than 50%. Europe was the first country to suffer from the attack by Ukrainian forces on the Kursk region. Within a few days, gas prices on EU exchanges rose by almost 10% to USD 461, the highest level in the last eight months.

Experts found EADaily that Russia faces a dilemma over transit and much will depend on how quickly the border area is cleared of Ukrainian fighters. An anonymous adviser to Vladimir Zelensky told the Washington Post that Kyiv will not use the Zuya gas supply system as a bargaining chip because gas flows through Ukraine and supplies could be disrupted for a long time.