The International Energy Agency intends to terminate the transportation of natural gas from Russia through Ukraine.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has announced that plans to terminate the transit of Russian natural gas through Ukraine after the expiration of an agreement at the end of this year, will mean a difficult winter for Ukraine and its neighboring countries. In a report on energy security in Ukraine before winter, the IEA stated that Ukraine will have to obtain natural gas supplies from Central and Eastern Europe after the agreement between Gazprom PJSC and Naftogaz expires. The agency stated, "It cannot be ruled out that Ukraine may find some form of transit arrangement, but the basic assumption is that Russian transit through Ukraine will cease from January 2025." It also highlighted the negative impact on Ukraine's neighbors, Moldova, stating that the country faces "significant uncertainty in natural gas transport," and that gas transportation may become much more expensive after the agreement expires. For over 50 years, natural gas transport has been a key feature connecting Russia, Ukraine, and Europe, but this era may soon come to an end, even though countries like Austria and Slovakia still rely on transportation from the east. Other solutions to maintain gas flow through this route have been proposed, including supplies from Azerbaijan, but it is currently unclear how they will operate. The European Commission has stated that it will not negotiate with Moscow. Czech Energy Minister Jozef Sikela warned the EU that natural gas transported through the Interconnector pipeline may include gas from Russia, which would undermine efforts to reduce dependence on Moscow for supplies. Michael Lewis, the CEO of Uniper SE, which was once a major customer of Gazprom, also stated that the company has no intention of importing gas from Russia. He said in an interview this week that the European gas market is in a favorable position this winter in terms of maintaining stable supply, partly due to high storage levels in the region.