Slovakia has criticised Ukraine's decision to end Russian gas transit to Europe, calling it a costly blow not only to Slovakia but the entire EU. While some member states downplay the impact, others face mounting pressure over energy security amid winter demands.
The Slovak leader, who critics accuse of taking a pro-Russian stance, said Slovakia might stop all humanitarian aid as well as halt the supply of electricity in emergency situations to Ukraine, or cut benefits for Ukrainian war refugees in Slovakia - but only if it has no other option, the prime minister said.
Flows of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine stopped on January 1 after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to continue decades of cooperation with Russia that had earned billions of dollars for both Moscow and Kyiv.
Ukraine has accused countries that still buy Russian energy of helping fuel Moscow's war machine, but the decision has caused mixed reactions in Europe.
The move was welcomed by Ukraine's close ally Poland, who called it a 'new victory' for the West.
A Polish official speaking anonymously was cited by Bloomberg as saying that Poland was ready to increase domestic electricity production to compensate for potential shortages in Ukraine's energy system in the event of action by the Slovak authorities.
According to Fico, the decision to stop the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine is not just an empty political gesture, but an extremely costly move that will come at the expense of the entire EU, including Slovakia.
The Slovak prime minister earlier claimed that Slovakia, which borders Ukraine, would lose nearly half a billion Euro in fees for transporting the raw material. The solution, he said, is to resume gas supplies from Ukraine or compensate for that financial shortfall. The country also relies on Russian gas itself.
Ukraine also long collected billions in transit fees. But Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that the gas transmission network, with EU assistance, had been prepared for a decision to halt deliveries.
EU reassures stable supplies
Brussels has downplayed the impact that the loss of Russian gas supply will have on the 27-member bloc overall.
'The situation is stable with all member States using a mix of regular winter storage and imports from third countries, which provide stable supplies to their consumers,' said a spokesperson for the Polish presidency of the Council of the EU. Poland currently holds the rotating EU presidency until June.
The European Commission said the transit cut-off was expected and reiterated the bloc's preparedness to replace the gas supplies via four alternative routes. 'The Commission has been working for more than a year specifically on preparing for a scenario without Russian gas transiting via Ukraine,' it said.
The alternative routes include imports via Germany, Poland and Italy with volumes mostly originating from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals as well as the so-called Trans-Balkan route from Greece, Türkiye and Romania.
According to a Commission document, the EU received about 14 billion cubic meters of gas via Ukraine per year in 2023 and 2024. Compared to 40 billion cubic meters of gas before the war, which began in 2022, volumes from Russia to the EU have been drastically reduced.
Despite the end of transit through Ukraine, Russian gas continues to reach the EU via other routes, including the TurkStream and Blue Stream gas pipelines laid in the Black Sea.
Energy independence and adequate gas storage
Several individual EU countries have also signalled that the cut-off of Russian gas via Ukraine is unlikely to affect their gas supplies.
'The transit stoppage will not affect the Czech Republic,' said Marek Vosahlik, a spokesman for the country's Industry and Trade Ministry, citing alternative gas supplies and previous investments, adding that the gas prices on wholesale markets are being closely monitored.
Romania is not affected as it does not have direct natural gas supply contracts with Russia's state-owned energy company Gazprom. The country's Energy Minister Sebastian Burdija told the Romanian national news agency Agerpres: 'In 2024 Romania became the largest gas producer in the European Union. Currently, Romania has almost two billion normal cubic metres stored, with a daily consumption of less than 40 million normal cubic metres'.
Bulgaria's natural gas transmission and storage operator Bulgartransgaz told the Bulgarian news agency BTA there were no significant changes in natural gas flows through Bulgaria in the first few days of 2025 compared to the second half of December 2024.
Asked about the progress of the Vertical Gas Corridor on the territory of Bulgaria, Bulgartransgaz released a statement stating that the projects of the company, part of the Vertical Gas Corridor initiative to increase the transmission capacities, are key to ensure the security of natural gas supply for the region.
Hungary is set to be largely unaffected as it receives Russian gas via the Black Sea pipeline, an alternative route that bypasses Ukraine by running through Türkiye and up through the Balkans.
Italy's Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto, also said gas supplies are currently still at an adequate level, adding that further measures are being evaluated to maximize the stock in storage in order to face the current winter season. He noted however that electricity bills - linked to the price of gas - of the most vulnerable consumers risk an increase as a result of the interruption of supplies of Russian gas.
Unease in eastern Europe
Some eastern European states are still heavily reliant on Russian imports, sparking unease over gas supplies for the current winter.
The situation is at its most critical in EU candidate country Moldova, which borders Ukraine and has to contend with Russian-backed separatists at home.
The breakaway region of Transnistria will run out of gas used for basic cooking and heating in less than a month, authorities warned, as the shutdown in Russian supplies plunged the separatist state into crisis.
Internationally recognised as part of Moldova, Transnistria declared independence at the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 and has since relied on Moscow's support.
Gazprom had already reduced its deliveries to Moldova since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, with the Russian company solely supplying the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria.
The pro-European politician is staunchly defiant of Russia and was reelected in November last year after a vote marred by accusations of Russian interference.
The rest of Moldova has been spared for now, able to secure power imports from neighbouring Romania.
The content is based on news by agencies participating in the European Newsroom (enr, a cooperation project between news agencies from all over Europe) - in this case AFP, Agerpres, ANSA, BTA, CTK, dpa, EFE, PAP, TASR.