Vital supplies of US liquefied natural gas are due to start flowing into war-ravaged Ukraine this winter via a pipeline across the Balkans.
The deal was announced after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens on Sunday. Greece is working to increase the flow of American LNG to its terminals to replace Russian gas in the region, Mitsotakis said recently.
The European Commission plans to ban all imports of Russian gas to EU member states by the end of 2027, arguing revenue from such sales funds Russia's war in Ukraine.
Zelensky is currently in France, where he President Emmanuel Macron signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale jets.
Fighting continued overnight, with six people reportedly killed in Russian attacks in the Kharkiv, Kherson, and Donetsk regions of Ukraine. Russia's military said it had taken control of three more Ukrainian villages - one each in the Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Two strategic developments were highlighted during Zelensky's visit: the upcoming deliveries of US LNG slated to begin in January and Kyiv’s plans to compensate for the destruction of local gas production caused by Russian assaults.
Greece is becoming an energy security provider for your homeland, Mitsotakis told the Ukrainian president. Zelensky noted that imports would be financed under European Commission guarantees at a cost close to €2 billion for gas purchases until March.
Since 2015, Ukraine has ceased buying Russian gas directly, depending instead on suppliers from various EU nations. The Soviet-era Trans-Balkan pipeline connects Ukraine to LNG terminals in Greece via Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned of new dangers posed by winter, as relentless attacks on energy facilities threaten to undermine efforts to maintain warmth in homes and health centers.
