Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stressed that the suspension of the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine will have a serious impact on EU countries, but not on Russia, Reuters reported.
Slovak company SPP, which is the largest operator of the national gas energy system, also said that it intends to supply gas to customers via alternative routes from Germany and Hungary amid the suspension of supplies from Gazprom.
The transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine completely stopped at 08:00 Moscow time, according to data from European gas transmission operators.
Earlier "Gazprom" reported that the Ukrainian side's refusal to extend the agreement on the transit of Russian gas through its territory to Europe deprived the Russian holding of the technical and legal opportunity to supply fuel along this route, and therefore at 08:00 Moscow time on January 1, 2024, pumping was stopped.
The greatest interest in continuing gas supplies from Russia has recently been shown by Slovakia and its Prime Minister Robert Fico, who paid a working visit to Moscow on December 22. He openly called on European Union leaders to urgently pay attention to Ukraine's decision to stop gas transit, predicting a rapid rise in prices and total losses for the EU of 120 billion euros in 2025-2026 in the event of a loss of supplies from Russia. Fico said that Slovakia may take measures against Ukraine and allows electricity supplies to be stopped to Kiev.