May 11, 2022.
Russian gas was shut down through a key transit point in the east of the country which is currently occupied by Russian troops, in a move that could partially disrupt supplies to Western Europe.
There could be a disruption in gas supply to Europe.
The operator of the gas transmission system in Ukranian stopped accepting Russian gas at a border entry point after accusing Russian forces of interfering with the operation of gas facilities.
The company said that the move will cut off about one-third of Russian gas transiting through to the rest of Europe.
The Ukrainian operator said that Russia should divert supplies through the northern part of the country, which is under the control of the Ukranian government.
According to the Associated Press, flow data from Wednesday suggested that a higher volume of gas was moving through the Ukrainian-controlled transit station.
The gas supply comes at a time when Ukrainian forces have begun to enjoy some success in the battle around the eastern Donbas region where they have managed to push Russian forces out of four villages.
As part of a broader effort to reduce its dependency on Russian energy sources, the European Union last week announced a proposal to phase out Russian oil imports over a period of six months as part of a new wave of sanctions against Moscow. In the face of stiff opposition from Hungary, the bloc has not been able to move forward with the plan. Hungarian President and long-time Putin-ally Viktor Orban said a ban would be too costly and would be dropped on the Hungarian economy. The proposed ban only applied to crude oil imports from Russia and not natural gas supplies, as several major EU countries still rely on Russian gas for their energy needs.
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