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The Russia–Ukraine gas disputes refer to a number of disputes between Ukrainian oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrayiny and Russian gas supplier
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
over
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
supplies, prices, and debts. These disputes have grown beyond simple business disputes into transnational political issues—involving political leaders from several countries—that threaten natural gas supplies in numerous European countries dependent on natural gas imports from Russian suppliers, which are transported through
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. Russia provides approximately a quarter of the natural gas consumed in the European Union; approximately 80% of those exports travel through pipelines across Ukrainian soil prior to arriving in the EU. A serious dispute began in March 2005 over the price of natural gas supplied and the cost of transit. During this conflict, Russia claimed Ukraine was not paying for gas, but diverting that which was intended to be exported to the EU from the pipelines. Ukrainian officials at first denied the accusation, but later Naftogaz admitted that because of harsh winter (lower than minus 30C) some natural gas intended for other European countries was retained and used for domestic needs. Ukraine said it will still meet its contractual transit obligations. The dispute reached a high point on 1 January 2006, when Russia cut off all gas supplies passing through Ukrainian territory. On 4 January 2006, a preliminary agreement between Russia and Ukraine was achieved, and the supply was restored. The situation calmed until October 2007 when new disputes began over Ukrainian gas debts. This led to reduction of gas supplies in March 2008. During the last months of 2008, relations once again became tense when Ukraine and Russia could not agree on the debts owed by Ukraine. In January 2009, this disagreement resulted in supply disruptions in many European nations, with eighteen European countries reporting major drops in or complete cut-offs of their gas supplies transported through Ukraine from Russia. In September 2009 officials from both countries stated they felt the situation was under control and that there would be no more conflicts over the topic, at least until the Ukrainian 2010 presidential elections. However, in October 2009, another disagreement arose about the amount of gas Ukraine would import from Russia in 2010. Ukraine intended to import less gas in 2010 as a result of reduced industry needs because of its
economic recession An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
; however, Gazprom insisted that Ukraine fulfill its contractual obligations and purchase the previously agreed upon quantities of gas. On 8 June 2010, a Stockholm court of arbitration ruled Naftohaz of Ukraine must return of gas to
RosUkrEnergo RosUkrEnergo is a Switzerland, Swiss-registered venture company that transports natural gas from Turkmenistan to Eastern Europe, East European countries. 50% of the company is owned by Gazprom, through its subsidiary Swiss-registered Rosgas Holdin ...
, a Swiss-based company in which Gazprom controls a 50% stake. Russia accused Ukrainian side of diverting gas from pipelines passing through Ukraine in 2009. Several high-ranking Ukrainian officials stated the return "would not be quick". Russia plans to completely abandon gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine after 2018. Gazprom has already substantially reduced the volumes of gas it transits across Ukraine, and expressed its intention of reducing the level further by means of transit diversification pipelines (Nord Stream, Turkish Stream, etc.). In 2021 natural gas prices in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
have risen as high as 800% from the beginning of the year. The dispute is over the
Nord Stream 2 Nord Stream 2 (German language, German–English language, English mixed expression for "North Stream 2"; ) is a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany running through the Baltic Sea, financed by Gazprom and several European energy compani ...
Gas pipeline and other disputes such as Yamal-Europe pipeline that usually sends Russian gas to Western Europe was flowing in reverse. On 1 January 2025, Ukraine terminated all Russian gas transit through its territory, after the contract between Gazprom and Naftohaz signed in 2019 expired.


Historical background

After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
, oil import prices to Ukraine reached world market levels in 1993. However, gas import prices and transit fees remained below European levels for Russian exports to Europe through pipelines in Ukraine; these were set in bilateral negotiations. At the same time Ukraine remained the main transit corridor for Russia's gas export. In 2004–2005, 80% of Russian gas exports to the European Union were made through Ukrainian territory. Two-thirds of Gazprom's revenue comes from the sale of gas that crosses Ukraine. Ukraine's annual gas consumption in 2004–2005 was around . Around were produced domestically, were bought from
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
, and were received from Russia in exchange for transport of Russian natural gas. The remaining were purchased from Russia. The gas trading system differed substantially from the gas sale to the European Union. It caused problems in the form of large-scale deliveries of relatively cheap Russian gas causing an increase of energy-intensive industries. This supported Ukraine's status as one of the world's least energy-efficient countries and largest gas importers. There was an accumulation of Ukrainian debts and non-payment of the debts, unsanctioned diversion of gas and alleged theft from the transit system, and Russian pressure on Ukraine to hand over infrastructure in return for relief of debts accumulated over natural gas transactions. Gas trading was conducted under a framework of bilateral intergovernmental agreements which provided for sales, transit volumes, gas prices, gas storage, and other issues such as the establishment of production joint ventures. Commercial agreements were negotiated between the relevant companies within the guidelines and dictates of that framework and supplemented by annual agreements specifying exact prices and volumes for the following year. Gas sales prices and transit tariffs were determined in relationship to each other. Commercial agreements and trade relations have been non-transparent. Trade has been conducted via intermediaries such as Itera, EuralTransGaz, and
RosUkrEnergo RosUkrEnergo is a Switzerland, Swiss-registered venture company that transports natural gas from Turkmenistan to Eastern Europe, East European countries. 50% of the company is owned by Gazprom, through its subsidiary Swiss-registered Rosgas Holdin ...
. RosUkrEnergo's involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian gas trade has been controversial. There are allegations that the company is controlled by
Semion Mogilevich Semion Yudkovich Mogilevich (, ; , ; born June 30, 1946) is a Ukrainian-born Russian organized crime boss. He is described by agencies in the European Union and United States as the " boss of all bosses" of most Russian Mafia syndicates in th ...
and its beneficiaries include strategically placed officials in the Russian and Ukrainian gas industries and governmental structures related to the energy sector.According to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timochenko, RosUkrEnergo is controlled by
Semion Mogilevich Semion Yudkovich Mogilevich (, ; , ; born June 30, 1946) is a Ukrainian-born Russian organized crime boss. He is described by agencies in the European Union and United States as the " boss of all bosses" of most Russian Mafia syndicates in th ...
.
Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
has made accusations that RosUkrEnergo is owned by a business ally of Ukraine's ex-president,
Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...
. The Ukrainian investigation into RosUkrEnergo, during
Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( Hrihyan born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been ...
's first term as prime minister, was closed after she was fired by Yushchenko in September 2005. According to a contract between Gazprom and Naftogaz signed on 21 June 2002, payment for the transfer of Russian natural gas through the Ukrainian pipeline system had been made in exchange for no more than 15% of the gas pumped through Ukrainian territory to be taken in lieu of cash. This contract was supposed to be valid until the end of 2013. On 9 August 2004, the two companies signed an addendum to the contract, according to which the amount of gas given as a payment was calculated based on a tariff of US$1.09 for the transportation of 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas over a distance of ; the addendum further stated the price of the natural gas supplied to Ukraine was to be $50 per 1,000 cubic meters (approximately $1.40 per million Btu). This price was constant notwithstanding the gas prices in the European markets. According to the addendum the price was not subject to change until the end of 2009. Gazprom argued that this addendum was only applicable provided that the two countries sign an annual intergovernmental protocol that has higher legal status for specifying the terms of gas transit. According to Gazprom, the addendum becomes void as the annual protocol had not been signed for 2006 under the required terms. Russia claimed that Gazprom's subsidies to the Ukrainian economy amounted to billions of dollars. According to the agreement of 2006, RosUkrEnergo was to receive no more than 20 percent of the total delivered gas, which in 2007 was of .


Disputes of the 1990s

Initial disputes concerning gas debts and non-payment appeared immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a result of disputes over non-payments by Ukraine, Russia suspended natural gas exports several times between 1992 and 1994. This led to the illicit diversion of Russian natural gas exports from transit pipelines by Ukrainian companies and institutions in September 1993 and November 1994. The diversion of gas was acknowledged by Ukraine, while accusations of other diversions were disputed. In September 1993, at a summit conference in Massandra,
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
, Russian President Boris Yeltsin offered to
Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...
Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (, ; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed the Lisbon Protocol, undertaking to give up Ukrai ...
to forgive Ukrainian debts in return for control of the
Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...
and Ukraine's nuclear arsenal. After a strong negative reaction from politicians in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, the idea was abandoned. An intergovernmental agreement was drafted on gas issues, including a clause stating Ukraine would permit Gazprom to participate in the privatization of Ukrainian enterprises in gas and other sectors. In March 1994, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister agreed with Russia that Gazprom could acquire a 51% stake in the pipeline system. In early 1995, Russia and Ukraine agreed to create a joint company, Gaztransit, to operate Ukraine's natural gas transit infrastructure in exchange for the cancellation of a substantial portion of Ukraine's debts to Russia. These agreements were never implemented, and in November 1995, the
Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...
, Ukraine's parliament, adopted a law prohibiting the privatization of oil and gas assets. In 1998, Gazprom and Naftohaz made a contract under which Gazprom would pay for the transit of volumes of gas, which established a link between gas prices and transit tariffs, but this contract did not resolve the problem of already incurred gas debts. In 1998, Gazprom alleged that Ukraine had illegally diverted gas meant for export to other European countries and suspended exports of oil and electricity to Ukraine in 1999. Gazprom also claimed that Ukraine's gas debt had reached $2.8 billion. In 2001, Deputy Prime Minister Oleh Dubyna acknowledged that in 2000 alone of Russian natural gas had been diverted from export pipelines. The debt issue was settled on 4 October 2001, by the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on Additional Measures Regarding the Provision of Transit of Russian Natural Gas on the Territory of Ukraine (the 2001 Transit Agreement).


Dispute of 2005–2006

Beginning in 2004, amidst rising international gas prices, Gazprom insisted on gradually adapting gas prices charged. Until 2005 Ukraine was charged $50 per 1,000 c. New CEO of Naftohaz Oleksiy Ivchenko at March 2005 proposed transit price rise to $1.75—2 per 1000 cubic meters. In negotiations over gas prices for 2006 Gazprom insisted on a new price of $160 per 1,000 cubic meters. The
Government of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state Executive (government), executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republi ...
agreed, with the stipulation that price increases were to be gradual, in return for increased gas transit fees and changing the method of payment for transit from payment in kind to cash. In May 2005, it was revealed that of gas which Gazprom had deposited in Ukrainian storage reservoirs during the previous winter had not been made available to the company. It remained unclear if the gas was missing, had disappeared due to technical problems, or had been stolen. This issue was resolved in July 2005 by agreement between Gazprom, Naftohaz and RosUkrEnergo, according to which Naftohaz received of gas as partial settlement of the Russian gas transit over 2005 services and was sold by Gazprom to RosUkrEnergo who has to receive it from Naftohaz. However, the negotiations between Gazprom and Naftohaz over gas prices and a new gas supply agreement failed. On 1 January 2006, Gazprom started reducing the pressure in the pipelines from Russia to Ukraine. Although Russia cut off supplies only to Ukraine, a number of European countries saw a drop in their supplies as well. The European Commissioner for Energy
Andris Piebalgs Andris Piebalgs (born 17 September 1957) is a Latvian politician and diplomat who served as European Commissioner for Development at the European Commission from 2010 until 2014. Between 2004 and 2009 he served as Commissioner for Energy. Betw ...
and several affected member states warned that blocking of gas deliveries was unacceptable.
Pascal Lamy Pascal Lamy (born 8 April 1947) is a French political consultant and businessman. He was the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 1 September 2005 to 1 September 2013 for 8 years. In April 2009, WTO members reappointed Lamy ...
, director general of the
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
, expressed the opinion that all
Post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...
should pay market prices for their energy needs in order to improve the efficiency of their economies. The supply was restored on 4 January 2006, after the preliminary agreement between Ukraine and Gazprom was settled. A five-year contract was signed, although with prices set for only six months. According to the contract, the gas was sold not directly to Naftohaz, but to the intermediary Russian-Swiss company RosUkrEnergo. The price of natural gas sold by Gazprom to RosUkrEnergo rose to $230 per 1,000 cubic metres, which, after mixing it in a proportion of one-third Russian gas to two-thirds cheaper supplies from
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, was resold to Ukraine at a price of $95 per 1,000 cubic metres. The parties agreed to raise the tariff for transit from US$1.09 to US$1.60 per 1,000 cubic meters per 100 km; this applied not only to the transit of Russian gas to Europe, but also Turkmen gas through Russia to Ukraine. On 11 January 2006, Presidents
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
and Viktor Yushchenko confirmed that the conflict had been concluded.


Dispute of 2007–2008

On 2 October 2007, Gazprom threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine because of unpaid debt of $1.3 billion. This dispute appeared to be settled on 8 October 2007. On 5 January 2008, Gazprom warned Ukraine that it would reduce its gas supplies on 11 January if $1.5 billion in gas debts were not paid. On 12 February 2008, presidents Putin and Yushchenko announced an agreement on the gas issue. Ukraine would begin paying off its debts for natural gas consumed in November–December 2007 and the price of $179.5 would be preserved in 2008. The presidents also decided to replace RosUkrEnergo and UkrGazEnergo with two new intermediaries, creating them as joint ventures of Gazprom and Naftogaz. At the end of February 2008, Gazprom threatened to reduce the supply of natural gas to Ukraine beginning on 3 March 2008, unless the pre-payment for 2008 was paid. The Ukrainian government said it paid for the natural gas which was consumed in 2007, but refused to pay the bill for 2008. A Gazprom spokesman claimed that the bill for of gas deliveries to Ukraine valued around $600 million remained unpaid. Ukraine disagreed as that debt accumulated in recent months when Russia used its own gas to make up for a shortfall in less expensive Central Asian gas. On 3 March, Gazprom cut its shipments to Ukraine by 25% and an additional 25% the next day, claiming that the $1.5 billion debt still was not paid, although Ukrainian officials stated it had indeed been paid. Gas supplies were restored on 5 March after Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Naftohaz CEO Oleh Dubyna agreed during negotiations by phone on a settlement. On 6 March, the Ukrainian cabinet refused to execute the gas agreements made by presidents Yushchenko and Putin. The Ukrainian cabinet did not want to pay in advance for 2008, and it opposed the creation of a Naftohaz–Gazprom venture that would sell gas in Ukraine. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko stated that Ukraine did not need any additional joint ventures, and as of 1 March 2008, UkrGazEnergo is no longer operating in Ukraine's domestic gas market.


Dispute of 2008–2009

The gas crisis of 2009 began with a failure to reach an agreement on gas prices and supplies for 2009. Ukraine owed a debt of $2.4 billion to Gazprom for gas already consumed, and Gazprom requested payment before the commencement of a new supply contract. In December 2008, despite Ukraine's repayment of more than $1 billion of its debt, Gazprom maintained its position, intending to cut the supply of natural gas to Ukraine on 1 January 2009, if Ukraine did not fully repay the remainder of $1.67 billion debt in natural gas supplies and an additional $450 million in fines levied by Gazprom. On 30 December, Naftohaz paid $1.522 billion, of the outstanding debt, but the two parties were not able to agree on the price for 2009. Ukraine proposed a price of $201, and later increased their proposed price to $235, while Gazprom demanded $250 per 1,000 cubic meters. Negotiations between Gazprom and Naftohaz were interrupted on 31 December. On 1 January 2009, exports to Ukraine of 90 million cubic meters of natural gas per day were halted completely at 10:00 MSK. Exports intended for transhipment to the EU continued at a volume of 300 million cubic meters per day. President Yushchenko requested that the European Union become involved in the settlement of this dispute in a letter to the
President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...
Jose Manuel Barroso. A Ukrainian delegation including Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan, Deputy Foreign Minister Konstantin Yeliseyev, the President's Representative for Energy Issues Bohdan Sokolovsky, and Deputy Head of Naftohaz Vadym Chuprun visited the Czech Republic as the first stop on a tour of a number EU member states to hold consultations on the gas crisis. On 2 January 2009, Hungary,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, and Poland reported that pressure in their pipelines had dropped.
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
also reported that their natural gas supply was dropping, affecting the shipment of natural gas to
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, Greece, and
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
. Furthermore, the United Kingdom Government announced that it was preparing to enter its gas reserves after gas pressure had dropped from the continent. The crisis provoked strong political reactions in the region. On 4 January 2009, both RosUkrEnergo and Gazprom filed lawsuits against Ukraine and Naftohaz respectively with the Stockholm Tribunal of the Arbitration Institute. Ukraine also filed lawsuits with the tribunal. According to Naftohaz, RosUkrEnergo owes the company $40 million for services in transportation of natural gas. On 5 January 2009, Kyiv's economic court banned Naftohaz from transshipping Russian natural gas in 2009 at the price of $1.60 per 1,600 cubic meters per 100 kilometers. The court declared contracts made by Naftohaz for the transit of natural gas through Ukraine void because the contracts were signed by Naftohaz without authorization from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. On 30 March 2010, the Stockholm tribunal ordered Naftohaz to pay RosUkrEnergo around $200 million as a penalty for various breaches of supply, transit, and storage contracts. On 8 June 2010, the tribunal ordered Naftohaz to return of natural gas to RosUkrEnergo. The tribunal further ordered that RosUkrEnergo would receive from Naftohaz a further of natural gas in lieu of RosUkrEnergo's damages for breach of contract.Stockholm court obliges Naftogaz to return 12.1 billion cubic meters of gas to RosUkrEnergo
, ''Kyiv Post'' (8 June 2010)
On 5 January 2009 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin instructed Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller to reduce natural gas exports to Europe via transshipment through Ukraine by quantities equivalent to the amounts of gas which Ukraine had allegedly diverted from the pipelines since deliveries ended on 1 January 2009. On 7 January, all Russian natural gas exports via Ukraine were halted amid accusations between the two parties. Several countries reported a major fall in supplies of Russian gas starting on 7 January;
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
,
Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
, and
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
were among the most affected by these supply drops. Talks between Naftohaz and Gazprom resumed overnight on 8 January 2009. Ukraine agreed to guarantee the unfettered transport of natural gas on the condition that Gazprom would guarantee and supply technical gas for Ukraine's gas transit system to function; this was denied by Russia. The supplies to Europe were not restored although the European Union, Ukraine, and Russia agreed to the deployment of an international monitoring group to the gas metering stations between Russia and Ukraine. Naftohaz blocked the transit of gas, blaming a lack of pressure in the pipeline system and saying the design of the Soviet-built pipeline meant it could not ship gas entering through the Sudzha metering station governing gas leaving through the
Orlivka Orlivka is the name of several populated places in Ukraine, including: * * * * Orlivka, Ocheretyne settlement hromada, Pokrovsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast * * Orlivka, Izmail Raion, Odesa Oblast * * * * A cognate placename in the Russian la ...
metering station without cutting off the Donetsk region,
Luhansk region Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the name ''Voroshilovgrad Oblast'' until 1 ...
, and portions of the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine. Naftohaz suggested a technically more feasible alternative through the Valuyki and Pisarevka metering stations but was refused. On 17 January 2009, Russia held an international gas conference in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. The EU was represented by the Presidency, the Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Martin Říman, and the EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, so that the European Union could speak with one voice. Ukraine was represented by the Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The conference did not achieve any solution to the crisis, and the negotiations continued bilaterally between Prime Ministers Putin and Tymoshenko. Early on 18 January 2009, after five hours of talks, Putin and Tymoshenko reached a deal to restore gas supplies to Europe and Ukraine. Both parties agreed that Ukraine would start paying European prices for its natural gas, less a 20% discount for 2009, and that Ukraine would pay the full European market price starting in 2010. In return for the discounts for 2009, Ukraine agreed to keep its transit fee for Russian gas unchanged in 2009. The two sides also agreed not to use intermediaries. On 19 January 2009,
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
Alexei Miller and the head of Naftohaz Oleh Dubyna signed an agreement on natural gas supply to Ukraine for the period of 2009–2019. Gas supplies restarted on 20 January 2009, and were fully restored on 21 January. According to the EU Commission and Presidency, the Russia–Ukraine gas disputes caused irreparable and irreversible damage to customers' confidence in Russia and Ukraine, causing Russia and Ukraine to no longer be regarded as reliable partners. According to reports, due to the gas crisis Gazprom lost more than $1.1 billion in revenue for the unsupplied gas. Ukraine also incurred losses as a result of the temporary closure of its steel and chemical industries due to the lack of gas. Ukraine also lost $100 million of potential revenue in transit fees from natural gas. There were also accusations of illegal diversion of natural gas by Ukraine; however, these accusations were not confirmed. The issue of technical gas used to fuel compressor stations and to maintain gas pressure in the pipeline network remained unclear. Some sources asserted that the responsibility for providing the technical gas falls to Ukraine, while others say that this is the responsibility of Gazprom. There were several theories as to alleged political motives behind the gas disputes, including Russia exerting pressure on Ukrainian politicians or attempting to subvert EU and NATO expansions to include Ukraine. Others suggested that Ukraine's actions were being orchestrated by the United States. Both sides tried to win sympathy for their arguments fighting a PR war. In August 2009, it was agreed that loans worth $1.7 billion would be given to Ukraine to help it provide stable supplies of Russian gas to Europe by the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
, the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
, and the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...
, in return for reforms in Ukraine's gas sector. On 28 December 2009, the
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
n government announced that Russia warned it would stop oil supplies to Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic over a transit price dispute with Ukraine. However, the next day, Ukraine's Naftohaz issued a statement confirming that Russia agreed to a 30% increase in the transit fees through Ukraine. The alleged rise in the tariff would be from $7.8 to $9.50 (or €6.6) per tonne of oil going through Ukraine in 2010. Additionally, unlike previous payments, new payments would be made in Euros as this was one of Ukraine's demands. Russia and Ukraine also agreed on the volume of oil to be transported through Ukraine. The overall amount of oil to be transported to Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Hungary through Ukraine in 2010 will be 15 million tonnes—a decrease from 17.1 million tonnes in 2008.


2010 natural gas agreement


Prologue

After meeting her Russian counterpart Putin, Ukrainian Prime Minister Tymoshenko declared on 3 September 2009, "Both sides, Russia and Ukraine, have agreed that at Christmas, there won't be ny halt in gas supplies as usually happens when there are crises in the gas sector. Everything will be quite calm on the basis of the current agreements". Tymoshenko also said that the Ukrainian and Russian premiers had agreed that sanctions would not be imposed on Ukraine for the country buying less gas than expected and that the price of Russian gas transit across Ukraine may grow 65% till 70% in 2010. A week before Gazprom had said it expected gas transit fees via Ukraine to rise by up to 59% in 2010. On 8 October 2009 Tymoshenko announced that Ukrainian 2010 natural gas imports will be significantly less than in previous years "because we have less need for natural gas". Because of its
economic recession An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
the industries require far less gas. In response to Tymoshenko
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
Chief Executive Alexey Miller stated that Ukraine should stick to the January (2009) contract for 2010. On 16 November 2009 Commissioner for Energy at the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
Andris Piebalgs Andris Piebalgs (born 17 September 1957) is a Latvian politician and diplomat who served as European Commissioner for Development at the European Commission from 2010 until 2014. Between 2004 and 2009 he served as Commissioner for Energy. Betw ...
stated that Russia and the European Union do not expect another gas conflict with Ukraine. According to him there were no gas price negotiations or questions other than that of gas payments. On 20 November 2009, the gas deal of 18 January 2009, was altered after a meeting between Tymoshenko and Putin in
Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...
; meaning Ukraine would not be fined for buying less gas then the old contract stipulated, this was done in view of the 2008–2009 Ukrainian financial crisis. On 24 November 2009 Gazprom and Naftohaz signed these supplements to the contract of 19 January 2009 on the purchase and sale of natural gas; according to the supplements, the annual contracted amount of gas to be supplied to Ukraine in 2010 has been set at , instead of the contracted earlier. The documents signed by the sides also stipulated that there will be no fines related to the amount of gas consumed by Naftohaz in 2009. Over the first ten months of 2009 Naftohaz has purchased of gas with the contracted volume being . On 15 December 2009, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko stated he expects no problems with Ukraine over gas supplies at New Year.


Agreement

Ukrainian
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Mykola Azarov Mykola Yanovych Azarov (; ; née, né Pakhlo, Cyrillic: Пахло; born 17 December 1947) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician who was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 11 March 2010 to 27 January 2014. He was the First Vice Prime Minister an ...
and Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko were in Moscow late March 2010 to negotiate lower gas prices; neither clearly explained what Ukraine was prepared to offer in return.Big plant on sale block for small price
, ''Kyiv Post'' (2 April 2010)
Following these talks Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stated that Russia was prepared to discuss the revision of the price for
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
it sells to Ukraine. On 21 April 2010, Russian
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...
and
Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...
Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...
signed an agreement"Russia, Ukraine agree on naval-base-for-gas deal"
, CNN (21 April 2010)
in which Russia agreed to a 30 percent drop in the price of
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
sold to Ukraine. Russia agreed to this in exchange for permission to extend Russia's lease of a major naval base in the Ukrainian
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
port of
Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...
for an additional 25 years with an additional five-year renewal option (to 2042–47)."Deal Struck on Gas, Black Sea Fleet"
, ''
The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' (''MT'') is an Amsterdam-based independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking to ...
'' (21 April 2010)
As of June 2010 Ukraine pays Gazprom around $234/mcm (thousand cubic meter). This agreement was subject to approval by both the
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
and Ukrainian parliaments. They did ratify the agreement on 27 April 2010. The
Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capi ...
ratified it after several eggs were thrown towards the speaker,
Volodymyr Lytvyn Volodymyr Mykhailovych Lytvyn (, ; born April 28, 1956) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician best known for being Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainian parliament. Having previously served in that position from 2002 until ...
, by deputies and other incidents. Opposition members in Ukraine and Russia expressed doubts the agreement would be fulfilled by the Ukrainian side."Update: Ukraine, Russia ratify Black Sea naval lease"
, ''Kyiv Post'' (27 April 2010)
Yanukovych has defended the agreement as a tool to help stabilise the state budget."Yanukovych snipes at opponent, defends fleet move"
, ''Kyiv Post'' (13 May 2009)
Opposition members in Ukraine described the agreement as a sell out of national interests.


Dispute of 2013–2014


Annexation of Crimea

In February 2014, Ukraine's
state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...
oil and gas company
Naftogaz Naftogaz of Ukraine (, ''Naftogaz Ukrainy''; literally "Naphtha-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company
sued Chornomornaftogaz for delayed debt payments of ₴11.614 billion (almost €1 billion) in the Economic Court of the
Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,Republic of Crimea authorities announced that they would
nationalize Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...
the company. Republic of Crimea deputy prime minister
Rustam Temirgaliev Rustam Ilmirovich Temirgaliev (, , ) is the Director General Russia-China Investment Fund for Regional Development since August 8, 2018. He previously held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic ...
said that Russia's
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
would be its new owner. A group of Gazprom representatives, including its head of business development, has been working at the Chornomornaftogaz head office since mid-March 2014. On 1 April, Russia's energy minister
Alexander Novak Alexander Valentinovich Novak (; born 23 August 1971 in Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine SSR) is a Russian politician who is a current Deputy Prime Minister of Russia since November 2020. Previously, he was the Minister of Energy of Russia ...
said that Gazprom would finance an undersea gas pipeline to Crimea. On 11 April 2014 the
U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...
's
Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, United States Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade economic sanctions, ...
(OFAC) announced that it had added Chornomornaftagaz to the
Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, a ...
as part of the third round of U.S. sanctions.
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
quoted an
anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...
U.S. official who explained that the United States wanted to make it impossible for Gazprom to "have dealings with Chornomorneftegaz", and if that were to happen, Gazprom itself could face sanctions. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
followed suit on 13 May 2014, the first time its sanctions list has included a company (in addition to Chornomorneftegaz, a Crimean oil supplier called Feodosia was also included). In 2014, Russia had seized Crimea and taken assets belonging to Ukraine, with no compensation paid. In 2023, A court in The Hague ordered Russia to pay US$5 billion in compensation to
Naftogaz Naftogaz of Ukraine (, ''Naftogaz Ukrainy''; literally "Naphtha-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company
.


June 2014 gas supplies to Ukraine cut off

In an attempt at energy independence, Naftogaz signed a pipeline access deal with
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
's Eustream on 28 April 2014. Eustream and its Ukrainian counterpart Ukrtransgaz, owned by
Naftogaz Naftogaz of Ukraine (, ''Naftogaz Ukrainy''; literally "Naphtha-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company
, agreed to allow Ukraine to use a never used (but aging, at 20 years old) pipeline on Slovakia's eastern border with
Uzhhorod Uzhhorod (, ; , ; , ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Uzh, Uzh River in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistan ...
in
western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine (, ) refers to the western territories of Ukraine. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries, but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions ( oblasts) of Chernivtsi, I ...
. The deal would provide Ukraine with 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas beginning in autumn of 2014 with the aim of increasing that amount to 10 billion cubic meters in 2015. On 1 April 2014
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
cancelled Ukraine's natural gas discount as agreed in the 17 December 2013 Ukrainian–Russian action plan because its debt to the company had risen to $1.7 billion since 2013. Later that month the price "automatically" jumped to $485 per 1,000 cubic meters because the Russian government annulled an export-duty exemption for Gazprom in place since the 2010 Kharkiv Pact (this agreement was denounced by Russia on 31 March 2014State Duma approves denunciation of Russian-Ukrainian agreements on Black Sea Fleet
,
Information Telegraph Agency of Russia The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterprise ...
(31 March 2014)
). On 30 May 2014 Ukraine paid $786 million to Gazprom. On 16 June 2014 Gazprom stated that Ukraine's debt to the company was $4.5 billion. After intermediary (that had started in May 2014) trilateral talks between EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, Ukraine and Russia failed on 15 June 2014 the latter halted (after a deadline of 10 a.m.
Moscow time Moscow Time (MSK; ) is the time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia, and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. It is the second-westernmost of the eleven time zones of Russia, after the non-continguous Kaliningrad enclave. It h ...
passed without it receiving payment) its natural gas supplies to Ukraine the next day.Ukraine crisis: Russia halts gas supplies to Kiev
,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
(16 June 2014)
Unilaterally Gazprom decided that Ukraine had to pay upfront for its natural gas. The company assured that its supplies to other European countries would continue.Ukraine crisis: Russia halts gas supplies to Kiev
,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
(16 June 2014)
Ukraine vowed to "provide reliable supply of gas to consumers in Ukraine and we will provide reliable transit to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
”.Russia Cuts Gas to Ukraine While Maintaining Flow to EU
,
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...
(16 June 2014)
At the time about 15 percent of European Union's demand depended on Russian natural gas piped through Ukraine. After trilateral months of talks between the European Union, Ukraine and Russia a deal was reached on 30 October 2014 in which Ukraine agreed to pay (in advance) $378 per 1,000 cubic metres to the end of 2014, and $365 in the first quarter (ending on 31 March) of 2015. Of its debts to Gazprom Ukraine agreed to pay of $1.45bn immediately, and $1.65bn by the end of 2014. It was agreed that the European Union will be acting as guarantor for Ukraine's gas purchases from Russia and would help to meet outstanding debts (using funds from existing accords with the European Union and
IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of la ...
). The total package was worth $4.6bn.Russia–Ukraine gas deal secures EU winter supply
,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
(31 October 2014)Ukraine secures winter gas supplies from Gazprom
,
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...
(31 October 2014)
According to European Union officials the deal secured that there would be no natural gas supply disruptions in other European countries.


November 2015 gas supplies stop

On 25 November 2015 Gazprom halted its exports of Russian natural gas to Ukraine.Ukraine closes airspace to all Russian planes
,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
(25 November 2015)
According to the Ukrainian government they had stopped buying from Gazprom because Ukraine could buy natural gas cheaper from other suppliers. According to Gazprom it had halted deliveries because Ukraine had not paid them for the next delivery. Since then, Ukraine has been able to fulfil its gas supply needs solely from European Union states. In 2018 the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ordered that Ukraine's
Naftogaz Naftogaz of Ukraine (, ''Naftogaz Ukrainy''; literally "Naphtha-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company
should import 5 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia, as required under its 2009 contract with Russia's
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...
. However, take-or-pay claims by Gazprom for 2009–2014 untaken gas volumes were rejected. On 28 February 2018, the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ordered that Gazprom pay Naftogaz for failing to ship certain amounts of gas through Ukraine gas transmission system. The net result of all claims was that Gazprom was ordered to pay Naftogaz $2.56 bln. Gazprom disputed this award and fought it off in several European courts where Naftogaz was trying to enforce the award. In the end, a settlement of principle was reached in Berlin on 20 December 2019 as part of wider trilateral talks between Gazprom, Ukraine and the European Commission on Russian gas transit through Ukraine. In September 2022, the two parties continued disagreeing about the arbitration process. Transit of Russian gas through Ukraine continued, in January 2022 Ukraine charged Gazprom $2.66 to move 1,000 cubic meters per 100 kilometers.


2022 Ukraine war-related gas issues

Following the escalation of the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
, Ukraine′s Crisis Committee approved by order of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine decreed on 26 February 2022 that non-transit natural gas exports from Ukraine would be prohibited. By 4 March 2022, LLC Gas TSO of Ukraine had shut down 16 gas distribution stations (GDS) which, two days later increased to 39 stations. In Kyiv alone, six gas distribution stations that provided service to 96,000 civilians were disconnected and could not be repaired due to active shelling. Shelling in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions increased the number of offline GDS to 93 by 27 May 2022, and the Sokhranivka gas transfer point (near Novopskov in Luhansk) has been shut off since then, while the Sudzha point has transferred around 42 mcm/day. Reacting to the rounds of 2022 E.U. sanctions on Russia, established shortly after the beginning of the invasion, in February and March 2022, President Vladimir Putin announced on 23 March 2022, that payments for Russian pipeline gas would be switched from "the currencies that had been compromised" (US dollar and euro) to payments in roubles vis-à-vis the previously formally designated "unfriendly countries", including all European Union states as well as Ukraine; on 28 March, he ordered the
Central Bank of Russia The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (), commonly known as the Bank of Russia (), also called the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), is the central bank of the Russia, Russian Federation. The bank was established on 13 July 1990. It traces its ...
, the government, and Gazprom to present proposals by March 31 for gas payments in rubles from "unfriendly countries". Russian gas continues to transit Ukraine in 2023, going to Austria, 6.0bcm p.a., Slovakia, 6.5bcm, and Hungary, 1.0bcm (part of their national supply). All three countries pay Russia in rubles. Russian gas piped through Ukraine in 2023 was 14.4bcm, with only the Sudzha, Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline operational. Ukraine is contracted to provide the service until December 2024. Gazprom is obliged to provide the gas and pay the transit fees to Ukraine. As a result of the August 2024 Kursk Oblast incursion, fighting had started at a Sudzha gas measuring station on August 7th, which resulted in a 12% drop of natural gas flow through the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline.


Termination of gas transit

On 1 January 2025, Ukraine terminated all Russian gas transit through its territory, after the contract between Gazprom and Naftohaz signed in 2019 expired. This comes a month after President Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would not allow Russia to use gas transits to earn "additional billions ..on our blood, on the lives of our citizens". It is estimated that Russia will lose around €5bn a year as a result. Austria, Slovakia, Moldova, and Transnistria had been relying on gas transiting through Ukraine. Austria's energy minister, Leonore Gewessler, commented that Austria was prepared and had found alternative suppliers. Moldova's government commented that it has enough gas until Spring, after which it will buy electricity from Europe. Slovakias prime minister
Robert Fico Robert Fico (; born 15 September 1964) is a Slovak politician who has served as the prime minister of Slovakia since 2023. He previously served as prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018. He founded the left-wing political party D ...
demanded the gas transfers through Ukraine should continue. In early January he stated that Slovakia had enough gas for its own needs, but complained about the loss of some €500 million in transfer fees. He demanded to be compensated for the lost renvenue, otherwise his country would stop the delivery of electricity to Ukraine and reduce the support for Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia.


Public reaction in Ukraine

Political pressure from Russia to Ukraine led to the emergence of a public campaign to boycott Russian goods in Ukraine during the gas conflict of 2005–2006. Active actions in the campaign also continued in early 2009—during the gas war of 2008–2009.


See also

* Black Sea Fleet dispute *
Druzhba pipeline The Druzhba pipeline (, ), also referred to as the Friendship Pipeline and the Comecon Pipeline, is one of the world's longest oil pipelines and one of the largest oil pipeline networks in the world. It began operation in 1964 and remains in oper ...
*
Energy policy of Russia Russia's energy policy is presented in the government's ''Energy Strategy'' document, first approved in 2000, which sets out the government's policy to 2020 (later extended to 2030). The Energy Strategy outlines several key priorities: increase ...
* Energy superpower * Energy Triangle * Nabucco Pipeline *
Natural gas in Russia In 2021 Russia was the world's second-largest producer of natural gas, producing an estimated 701 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year, and the world's largest natural gas exporter, shipping an estimated 250 bcm a year. In 2022 the export ...
* Natural gas in Ukraine *
Nord Stream 1 Nord Stream (Denglisch, German–English mixed expression for "North Stream 1"; ) is a pair of offshore natural gas pipeline transport, pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. It consists of the Nord Stream 1 ( ...
*
Peak gas Peak gas is the point in time when the maximum global natural gas (fossil gas) production rate will be reached, after which the rate of production will enter its terminal decline. Although demand is peaking in the United States and Europe, it c ...
* Russia in the European energy sector * Russia–Belarus energy dispute * Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline * Yamal–Europe pipeline


References


External links


The Russian-Ukrainian Gas Conflict: Russian Analytical Digest No. 53, 20 January 2009
ISRIA, 14 January 2009 * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090305120706/http://gazpromukrainefacts.com/ Gazprom Ukraine Facts(Gazprom's website)
Map of major natural gas pipelines in central and eastern Europe
BBC (based on INOGATE detailed European map)
Timeline of events in Ukraine's gas dealings July 2004 – February 2011
by
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russia-Ukraine gas disputes Energy policy Price disputes involving Gazprom Energy crises Russia–Ukraine relations Natural gas in Russia Natural gas in Ukraine Natural resource conflicts Political scandals in Ukraine Political scandals in Russia Energy policy of Russia Vladimir Putin