LVIV (Reuters) – The arrival of Russian troops at some of Ukraine’s gas compressor stations poses a risk to European supplies, Ukraine’s gas pipeline operator warned on Thursday, although there were no signs of an immediate impact on flows.
Gas supplies into Slovakia from Ukraine via the Velke Kapusany border point were stable at the time of writing, according to transmission system operator data.
Some 41.6 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Russian gas was transported through Ukraine to Europe in 2021, making it a key supply route, although that was down 25% on the year before as Moscow looks for alternatives.
The operator of Ukraine’s gas pipelines (OGTSU) said Russian forces were at more than one gas compressor station, posing a potential threat to smooth gas transit to Europe. It did not say how many stations were affected or where they were.
“The OGTSU demands that the military and armed groups immediately leave the territory of the compressor stations and stop trying to influence the operation of the GTS (gas transmission system),” it said.
“Interference in the technological processes of GTS operations creates significant risks for the safety of continuous gas transportation to consumers in Ukraine and Europe,” it said.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Writing by Alessandra Prentice, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Mark Potter)
