Russia’s Gazprom Says Gas to Europe Continues to Flow Through Kursk Region Despite Fighting

Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom said the transit volume through Kursk’s Sudzha gas metering station, the only remaining route for Russian gas transit to Europe through Ukraine had decreased on Thursday amidst Ukraine’s ongoing advance into the region.  

“Gazprom is supplying Russian gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine in the volume confirmed by the Ukrainian side through the Sudzha gas metering station – 37.3 million cubic meters(1.3 billion cubic feet) as of Aug. 8,” said Gazprom representative Sergei Kupriyanov, according to Interfax Russia.

The article said the volume on Wednesday, a day prior, was 39.4 million cubic meters (1.4 billion cubic feet), close to 2 million cubic meters (70.6 million cubic feet) more. It also said Thursday’s level was 12 percent lower than the usual weekday level.

Kupriyanov did not specify, however, if the decrease was directly caused by Ukraine’s offensive in the Kursk region, which started in the early hours of Tuesday, Aug. 6.

Gas transit from Ukraine to Europe remains unchanged, Interfax Russia reported, citing data from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG).

Despite the EU’s sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, the bloc continued to import its gas after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, though Russia’s proportion, among the supplying countries, did decrease from 40 percent in 2021 to about 8 percent in 2023, as reported by Deutsche Welle (DW).

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