For national security reasons, Ukraine has halted the transit of Russian gas.

On Wednesday, January 1, at 07:00, Ukraine suspended the transit of Russian gas through its territory, citing national security concerns. This was reported by the Ministry of Energy.

Ukraine timely informed international partners about this decision in the established manner.

"We have halted the transit of Russian gas; this is a historic event. Russia is losing markets and will incur financial losses. Europe has already decided to abandon Russian gas. The European initiative Repower EU encompasses exactly what Ukraine has done today," stated Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.

The Ministry of Energy noted that as of January 1, the Ukrainian gas transportation system is operating in a mode of complete cessation of gas transit from Russia.

The agency emphasized that the gas transportation infrastructure was prepared in advance to operate under zero transit conditions and is capable of ensuring stable gas supplies for Ukrainian consumers.

It is worth noting that earlier, Robert Fico stated that Ukraine is stubbornly refusing to continue the transit of Russian "blue fuel" through its territory, which means Slovakia is facing a gas crisis. Official Bratislava, which has a long-term contract with Russian "Gazprom," calculated that purchasing gas elsewhere would cost it an additional 220 million euros in transit expenses.

The publication Politico reported that Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly offered Robert Fico to extend the transit of Russian gas to Slovakia in exchange for permission for Ukraine to join NATO.

Russian President Vladimir Putin noted on December 26 that just a few days before the New Year, it would no longer be possible to conclude a contract for gas transit through Ukraine. Russia, the Kremlin leader assured, is ready to supply gas through Ukraine with any contractor, but this is impossible due to the lawsuit from Kyiv.