Ukraine halts Russian gas transit via Sokhranivka
Ukraine's gas grid operator GTSOU declared a force majeure on the transit of Russian gas entering Ukraine at Sokhranivka on May 11, saying it would no longer accept gas at this entry point.
GTSOU blamed the disruption on the actions of Russian troops, which occupy the affected area of the Lugansk region. The route handles a third of Russian gas transit to Europe via Ukraine, or up to 32.6mn m3/day, according to GTSOU.
GTSOU said it had lost operational control of the Novopskov border compressor station and other assets in Russian-occupied territories. As a result, from 07:00 local time on May 11, GTSOU said gas would not be accepted into Ukraine's gas grid at Sokhranivka.
"In order to fulfil the transit obligations to European partners in full and in accordance with the terms of the agreement, it is possible to temporarily transfer unavailable capacity from Sokhranivka to the physical point of Sudzha in the territory controlled by Ukraine," GTSOU said.
This marks the first time that Russia's now 78-day war in Ukraine that gas transit has been affected. The front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub spiked at close to €104 ($110)/MWh during early trading as a result of the news, although it has since fallen below €97/MWh.