“Once Russian gas is fed to the entry point of the Ukrainian gas transmission system, the volume of gas at the exit point on the western border of Ukraine should be exactly equal to the volume of gas fed into the Ukrainian gas transmission system. An appropriate cable message has been promptly sent to Naftogaz Ukrainy. The message contains a request to ensure reasonable preparation of the gas transmission facilities in Ukraine for Russian gas supply via the transit pipelines across the Russian-Ukrainian border.

As of January 7, when Gazprom was forced to cease gas supplies, the transit pipelines in Ukraine were filled with Russian gas. Therefore, the pipeline pressure is supposed to be sufficient for ensuring synchronous gas flow at the entry and exit points of the Ukrainian gas transmission system. Once we feed gas to the entry point, it is to appear at the exit point!

Thus, the Ukrainian party’s statement that it will take 36 hours from the moment Russian gas enters the Ukrainian gas transmission system to the moment it crosses the western border of Ukraine sounds surprising and is inconsistent with the existing contract,” said Sergey Kupriyanov, the official spokesman of Gazprom.