Ukraine & Russia Plan to Keep Gas Flowing to EU: Bloomberg

Russia and Ukraine intend to keep pipeline gas flowing to Europe despite the continued fighting in Kursk, with neither side intending to halt flows via the Sudzha gas-intake station, Bloomberg said.

• Ukraine is keen to seem a reliable partner to Europe in the hope that EU traders utilise its vast gas storage facilities
• It also has an incentive to protect infrastructure, since unused pipelines could become targets, Bloomberg said.
• “We intend to continue to provide gas transportation services within the framework of the agreement,” Ukraine’s Naftogaz said in a statement cited by Bloomberg. This was referring to a gas transit deal expiring in December.
• Concern remains over risk of accidental damage to key infrastructure at the Sudzha station, which could halt supplies.
• Ukraine launched a recent incursion into the bordering Kursk region in Russia. It has since taken control of the Sudzha station, sources told Bloomberg.