'Defeat' for Russia as Kyiv ends gas transit to Europe

Zelensky refuses to prolong cooperation that has earned billions for both Moscow and Kyiv

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Jan 1 hailed the end of Russian gas transit across his country as a significant "defeat" for Moscow amid its near three-year invasion.

The flow of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine stopped on the morning of Jan 1 after Mr Zelensky refused to prolong decades of cooperation that had earned billions of dollars for both Moscow and Kyiv.

Ukraine has attacked countries that still buy Russian energy as helping fuel Moscow's war machine but the decision has caused mixed reactions in Europe, Russia's top gas customer before the February 2022 invasion.

Moscow says Ukraine is frustrating its partners in Eastern Europe that rely on Russian supplies.

Russian gas accounted for less than 10 per cent of the European Union's gas imports in 2023, down from more than 40 per cent before the war. But some of the bloc's eastern members are still heavily reliant on Russian imports.

Mr Zelensky pointed the finger directly at Russian President Vladimir Putin for the breakdown in gas ties.

"When Putin was given power in Russia more than 25 years ago, the annual gas pumping through Ukraine to Europe was 130-plus billion cubic m. Today, the transit of Russian gas is zero," he said on social media.