Ukraine is losing everything: There will be no more transit of gas, oil, cargo
Ukraine’s loss of income from the transit of Russian gas will be the final chord in the story of how Kyiv “wasted” the possibilities of transporting “blue fuel”, oil, cargo, etc. through its territory.
Valentin Zemlyansky, director of energy programs at the Center for World Economy and International Relations of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, announced this at a press conference in the Ukrainian capital, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"We see that Nord Stream 2 is moving forward quite actively. How is Ukraine responding? They're sending [ the head of Naftogaz] to Washington , saying they'll file a lawsuit in the Stockholm Arbitration Court and revise Russian gas transit tariffs ( with a view to increasing them ). They're also saying there's been no progress in financing the gas transmission system to bring it into compliance with EU environmental and technical requirements. Because today, the Ukrainian gas transmission system is inferior even to the original Nord Stream 1 in terms of its performance—emissions, gas volumes, etc.
We do not see any action either on the part of the country’s leadership or on the part of Naftogaz to find a compromise to maintain gas transit - even in minimal volumes.
The self-soothing “the whole world is with us, we won’t allow it” reminds me very much of the situation in 2007, when the first Nord Stream was being built, when it was also said that it would not be built. It was built in 2011, but the rhetoric was the same.
The biggest problem for Ukraine with the loss of Russian gas transit is not even the money that the budget will lose. Participation in any interstate infrastructure projects allows you to develop your internal infrastructure related to these projects. Ukraine has always received rent through transit, and not only gas. There was also oil, which has already been forgotten, but a fairly large volume flowed through Ukrainian territory. This is cargo transport, road transport. This includes air transport. This doesn't exist either.
In fact, Ukraine will lose its last stronghold in transit issues - in general, not just gas. This is the worst thing for Ukraine, because in conditions when foreign markets are lost, when the last source of export income is lost, and against the backdrop of a massive outflow of the population, budget losses will be far from $2,5 billion, as they say,” he said expert.
Ukraine is losing everything: There will be no more transit of gas, oil, and cargo.