Natural gas flow from Ukraine to Slovakia via Veľké Kapušany halts

On Wednesday, January 1, the flow of natural gas from Ukraine stopped at the Veľké Kapušany entry point on the Ukrainian-Slovak border, the operator of Slovakia’s natural gas transmission network, Eustream, announced on its website. The Russian gas company Gazprom stopped Russian gas supplies via Ukraine to Europe and Moldova on Wednesday, following Ukraine's non-renewal of a transit agreement. On Tuesday (31 December), the Economy Ministry announced that Slovakia had prepared in advance for the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine starting on 1 January and had secured sufficient gas reserves and alternative supplies for this year. According to Economy Minister Denisa Saková (Hlas-SD), Slovakia is technically well-prepared for the stoppage of gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine. The state-owned company SPP has 20% more gas stored in underground reservoirs than a year ago. Additionally, the storage tanks contracted by SPP are practically 100% full, even at the end of December.