The Polish government is ready to increase domestic electricity production to compensate for any imbalances that the Ukrainian power system will experience if Slovakia cuts off electricity supplies, UNN reports, citing Bloomberg.
According to the agency, all negotiations are currently closed, and therefore the official who voiced this information wished to remain anonymous.
"Warsaw's assurances came amid an escalating dispute over the future of gas transit through Ukraine. Fico (Robert Fico - Prime Minister of Slovakia - ed.) threatened two days ago that Slovakia would cut off the supply of electricity that Ukraine urgently needs during the grid disruptions, if necessary. Nearly three years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Bratislava still relies on cheap gas from Gazprom, undermining the European Union's efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy," the agency writes.
The flow of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe is expected to end on December 31, when the current agreement expires. Although Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated that he will not allow gas transit, which benefits the Kremlin's war machine, from January, he has made it clear that he is ready to transport fuel from countries other than Russia if the European Commission requests it.
The Commission, which helped to negotiate transit agreements between Kyiv and Moscow before the war, is left out of the negotiations. Instead, they emphasize that there are alternative sources and that gas reserves in the region are high.
Словаччина натякає на заходи у відповідь через відмову України транзитувати газ - ЗМІ27.12.24, 22:10
Although the EU aims to phase out fossil fuel supplies from Russia by 2027, gas was not part of the sanctions the bloc imposed on Moscow after the February 2022 invasion. This means that companies are still allowed to enter into contracts and continue imports, as long as these agreements comply with existing EU regulations.
Energy analysts note that even if an agreement is reached to continue transit through Ukraine, it will only be temporary, as the Commission is preparing a roadmap to stop EU energy imports from Russia. This strategy should be made public in February.
Since March, Russia has stepped up missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, destroying about half of its power capacity and causing blackouts across the country. Ukraine is heavily dependent on imports, including from Slovakia.
Slovakia continues to receive Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukraine. Kyiv may cut off these supplies as a possible countermeasure if Slovakia stops exporting electricity, another person familiar with the situation told the agency.