Ukraine is ready for a possible suspension of gas transit from Russia to Europe. This was announced on the air of the ICTV channel by Prime Minister Aleksey Goncharuk and the head of the Ministry of Energy and the Environment Aleksey Orzhel.

“I want to assure Ukrainians that the country is ready for the heating season,” said the head of the Ukrainian government.

According to him, Ukraine has "sufficient reserves of gas and coal," and the country's budget has sufficient funds to subsidize "any low-income family."

In turn, Alexei Orzhel confirmed the prime minister's words in numbers. He said that there are 21.7 billion cubic meters of gas in Ukrainian storages, which is a "record amount."

As Alexander Frolov, deputy director general of the Institute of National Energy, noted in an interview with RT, the Ukrainian gas transportation system was built in the “terrible and terrible” days of modern Ukraine as part of a unified gas supply and gas supply system. According to him, for the country's gas transmission system to work efficiently, it is necessary that the transportation of blue fuel does not stop through it.

“If it’s simple, then the pressure in the pipes, which is created due to the gas flow from the eastern to western borders of Ukraine, allows us to provide the necessary pressure for gas supplies to consumers within Ukraine itself. If transit stops, then the operator company, whatever it is, without the flow of Russian gas supporting the necessary pressure, will need to provide it independently, that is, pumping it out of its own storage facilities, ”the expert noted.

According to him, the problem is that a lot will depend on how cold the upcoming winter will be.

“Now Ukraine uses gas supplied from the EU to balance its daily consumption. But in fact, there are no physical deliveries from the western border somewhere near Kiev, for example. If transit to the EU ceases, a crisis will arise. In the event of a crisis, no one will supply surplus to Ukraine. Because, firstly, there will be no surplus, and secondly, Ukraine will have to carry out a physical reverse, for which it has no technical capabilities. And the issue of deficit will become much more acute, ”Frolov explained.

It is worth noting that Orgel noted the importance of signing a new agreement for the transportation of blue fuel in accordance with European legislation. True, he talks about transit revenues and the exclusion of alleged "blackmail" from Russia.

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“For Ukraine, it is a priority to receive funds for transportation. We are working very actively with our European partners to sign an agreement with Gazprom under the new European rules, ”added the head of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine.

Recall that on October 28 in Brussels the fourth round of trilateral consultations (Russia - European Union - Ukraine) took place on the continuation of gas transit through the Ukrainian GTS after December 31, 2019. Following its results, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak said that Moscow and Kiev are determined to continue the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory after 2020. Moreover, the Ukrainian side did not rule out the resumption of direct fuel purchases from Gazprom.

However, then the executive director of NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy Yury Vitrenko announced a new lawsuit against Gazprom, which was sent to the Stockholm arbitration. Kiev requires a review of the transit tariff, compensation in the amount of $ 11.8 billion for the refusal of the Russian state corporation to do this in March 2018, and another $ 448 million for other violations, and is also seeking the submission of a declaration on gas supplies to the Donbass, since the Ukrainian side does not recognize the fact of their implementation.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on both sides of the negotiations to get rid of mutual claims in order to reach an agreement on gas. As the press secretary of the head of state, Dmitry Peskov, added later, it was Kiev that should be interested in continuing transit, since the Ukrainian gas transportation system would “just fall apart” if transportation ceases, while Moscow has alternative routes for delivering blue fuel to European consumers, but we are talking about refusing transit through Ukraine does not go.

“And, besides, how can one even talk about something and strive for some kind of agreement if such a bacchanalia in arbitration continues,” Peskov said on the program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin "on the channel" Russia 1 ".

Countering Nord Stream 2

However, once again in Ukraine, they called for a fight against the Nord Stream - 2 trans-trunk gas pipeline. The corresponding appeal to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Urmas Reinsal was made by the Ukrainian Prime Minister Alexey Goncharuk.

According to the head of government, it is important that EU countries “explain to their citizens the negative consequences for Europe’s energy security” from the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 AG project.

“In response, the Estonian Foreign Minister noted the importance of this issue and agreed on the need to coordinate actions to counteract the construction,” the statement said.

The First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy Igor Ananskikh, in an interview with RT, expressed surprise at the fact that a non-EU country gives advice to its members regarding energy, emphasizing that for the economy and citizens of the EU countries, receiving Russian gas is “extremely important”.

“You can talk about energy security, but you need to understand what it is. It seems to me that the problem of our neighbors is that they replace concepts. Energy security and their mercantile interests do not intersect in any way - these are completely different things. For Europe’s energy security, the Nord Stream 2 and Nord Stream 1 pipelines are best because no one can block them, ”Ananskih said.

Recall that on October 30, the Danish authorities issued permission to lay the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline on the country's continental shelf southeast of the Bornholm island in the Baltic Sea. Thus, the construction of the facility should be completed according to the schedule at the end of 2019.

The Nord Stream 2 AG project consists of two strands of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, which are bypassed transit states through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. The total length of both lines of the highway is about 2400 km. According to data from October 1, 2042 km of the gas pipeline were laid, that is, construction was completed by 83%.