The delivery of Russian gas to EU states via Ukraine has ended after the expiry of a five-year agreement between the Ukrainian gas supplier Naftogaz and Russia’s Gazprom.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that his country would not allow Russia to “earn billions more with our blood” and gave the EU a year to prepare.
The European Commission said the continental gas system is “resilient and flexible” and has enough capacity to cope with the end of transit through Ukraine.
Russia can still export gas to Hungary, as well as Turkey and Serbia, through the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea.
The stoppage of flows to Ukraine marks the end of the era of cheap Russian gas to the EU.
Slovakia is the worst affected, while the European Commission says the impact will be limited, due to careful planning and other factors.
However, the strategic and symbolic impact of the rest of Europe is enormous.
Russia has lost an important market but its president, Vladimir Putin, says EU countries will suffer the most.
The EU has sharply cut gas imports from Russia since launching its all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but many eastern member states are still heavily dependent on the supply, costing Russia five billion euros ($5.2bn; £4.2bn) a year.
Russian gas was less than 10% of the gas imported by the EU in 2023, according to the bloc. That figure was 40% in 2021.
But several EU members, including Slovakia and Austria, continue to import significant amounts of gas from Russia.
Austria’s energy regulator said it does not foresee any disruptions as it has various sources and is building storage facilities.
But Ukraine’s decision has created serious tensions with Slovakia, which is now the main hub for Russian gas entering the EU and has gained transit revenues by supplying gas to Austria, Hungary and Italy.
On Friday, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico – who recently made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Putin – threatened to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine.
This prompted Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, to accuse Fico of helping Putin “fund the war and weaken Ukraine”.
“Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia’s efforts to cause the suffering of the Ukrainian people,” the Ukrainian president said.
Poland has promised to support Kyiv if Slovakia cuts off its electricity exports – vital to Ukraine, whose power plants are regularly attacked by Russia.
Moldova – which is not part of the EU – could be most affected by the end of the migration agreement. It generates most of its electricity from a Russian gas-fired power station. It also provided the Russian-backed rebel enclave of Transnistria, a small strip of land between Moldova and Ukraine.
Moldova’s energy minister, Constantin Borosan, said his government had taken steps to ensure electricity was stable but asked citizens to conserve electricity.
A 60-day state of emergency in the energy sector has been in place since mid-December.
President Maia Sandu has accused the Kremlin of “disloyalty” that may be aimed at discrediting her country ahead of national elections in 2025. The Moldovan government also said it has provided aid to Transnistria.
Russia has delivered gas to Europe through Ukraine since 1991.
The EU has found other sources in liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar and the US, as well as pipeline gas from Norway, since Russia invaded Ukraine.
In December, the European Commission laid out plans to completely switch gas transit through Ukraine.
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