Gazprom separates the Ukraine from Poland, cutting off one of channels of gas supplies to Kiev

Gazprom has demonstrated how it can effectively influence the reverse gas supplies to the Ukraine from Europe. Under the pretext of the lack of gas for the pumping into Russian storage facilities the monopoly refused to supply additional volumes to Poland, which it needed because of a small fall in temperatures. As a result, Warsaw was forced to abandon the reverse supplies and its renewal is in question. In addition to the threat to Kiev, it is also a signal to Brussels about the need to revitalize the the situation of the Ukrainian gas problem.

Yesterday, Polish PGNiG stated that in the last three days, Gazprom didn’t fulfilled its orders to increase the supply of gas, due to which Poland received by about 20% less than its stated requirements. Gazprom clarified that it supplied to Poland the same amount of gas as before - 23 million cubic meters per day. The monopoly explains its refusal to meet the increased order with shortage of gas because of its current pumping into underground storage facilities in Russia. As a result, in the middle of yesterday, Poland had to stop the reverse gas supplies to the Ukraine, which the Russian President, Vladimir Putin and the management of Gazprom has repeatedly called "questionable" and promised to stop. Thus, the head of Gazprom Alexei Miller said at the end of June that the company could limit the supplies to those gas metering stations, which are used for the reverse supplies to the Ukraine.