Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that Ukraine will not renew its gas transit agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom when it expires at the end of this year.
The current deal, which provides Ukraine with regular income accounting for around 0.5% of its GDP, is set to end on December 31.
Pipelines through Ukraine account for approximately half of all Russian gas exports to the EU. Ahead of the announcement, four EU countries—Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Slovakia—had urged for the agreement’s extension.
Speaking in Brussels after talks with EU leaders, Zelenskyy made it clear that the transit deal would not be extended. “We would not prolong the transit of Russian gas,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying. “We will not allow additional billions to be earned at the expense of our blood, of the lives of our citizens.”
However, Zelenskyy indicated that an exception could be made if payments are delayed until after the war. “If the country is ready to give us the gas but not to pay Russia back until the end of the war, then it’s a possible potentiality,” he said. “We can think about it.”
Zelenskyy also rejected the idea of facilitating Russian gas transit through Azerbaijan, an alternative proposed by the Slovakian government. Slovakia imports around three billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually, and has been exploring the possibility of purchasing Russian gas from Azerbaijan to bypass Ukraine.
The arrangement would involve Azerbaijan buying Russian gas and selling it as its own production.
“In simple terms, there would be no change in the gas flows: EU traders would buy gas from Azerbaijan, which would buy gas from Russia,” explained the Bruegel think tank in an October report.
However, Zelenskyy criticized this as a deceptive workaround. “We don’t want to play a game where this other country receives gas from Russia and then transits it,” he told Euronews. “This is the same as continuing to profit from this war and sending money to Russia.”
Zelenskyy told Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico that Ukraine would be open to carrying another country’s gas through its infrastructure, but only with assurances that the gas was not just re-labelled Russian fuel.
Zelenskyy also responded to Fico’s warning that Ukraine would face economic consequences once the gas deal ends. “To be honest, during a war, it’s a bit shameful to talk about money because we’re losing people,” Zelenskyy said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin downplayed the impact of the deal’s expiration. “This contract will no longer exist. Everything is clear,” Putin was quoted as saying. “We will survive; Gazprom will survive.”
The European Commission has stated that it is prepared for the expiration of the deal, noting that countries receiving Russian gas via Ukraine have access to alternative sources.
