“Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities and Polish gas LNG terminals can create a new business model instead of Russian gas transit,” says a message on the website of the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy.
The department noted that Kyiv officially approached its partners with a proposal to sign documents to begin the development of interstate entry-exit points of the gas transportation system between Ukraine and Poland, as well as to increase the installed capacity.
"We expect the introduction of long- and medium-term contracting procedures in a business mechanism similar to business models in the United States. This will help Ukraine and Poland store as much gas as is needed for the whole of Eastern Europe. In this particular case, this deregulated and physically developed throughput between our governments will help redirect that part of the natural gas that was previously supplied by the Russians,” the department quotes Deputy Energy Minister Nikolai Kolesnik as saying.
The current agreement on the transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine expires at the end of 2024, and Kyiv has repeatedly stated that it has no plans to renew it. The agreement between Transneft and Ukrtransnafta on the transit of Russian oil is valid until 2030, however, the EU oil embargo prohibiting oil supplies from the Russian Federation by sea and via the northern branch of the Druzhba pipeline (to Germany and Poland), regarding supplies via the southern branch ( through Ukraine in the direction of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) provides for the postponement of the application of sanctions until a special decision of the EU Council in this regard.
Advisor to the head of Vladimir Zelensky's office, Mikhail Podolyak, said at the end of August that Ukraine would stop both the transit of Russian gas and transit through the Druzhba oil pipeline from January 1, 2025, referring to the EU resolution, according to which Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary had to find opportunities to diversify oil supplies and stop the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine.
