the Head of the Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko fears that after the commissioning of the new Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2, no more Russian gas will flow through his country. “We are 100 percent sure that Nord Stream 2 has the sole purpose of shutting down Ukraine in gas transit,” he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Referring to the Russian troop deployment on the border, he said Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin was preparing a military invasion. “And he wants to make sure that there are no negative consequences for trade with Europe.”
The state-owned company Naftogaz operates the 38,000-kilometer-long gas network through Ukraine, which has so far also transported Russian gas to Central Europe. Until the end of 2024, the financially strapped ex-Soviet republic will earn the equivalent of over a billion euros a year from transit. Moscow’s goal is to eliminate this transitsaid Vitrenko. Commitments to extend existing transit contracts did not change that. In the event of a Russian invasion, there would be no more lines through Ukraine, he said.