Ukraine Boasts European Gas Imports, But Most Of It Still Russian

Ukraine’s state-run Naftogaz is importing less natural gas from Russia, the company said on Tuesday. But guess where the gas is coming from that it is now importing from Eastern Europe?

Natural gas imports from eastern Europe primarily doubled from 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2014 to 10.3 bcm in 2015. Naftogaz now imports gas from more than 10 suppliers, diversifying away from Gazprom and Russian pipelines.

Russia’s direct imports to Ukraine decreased from 14.5 bcm in 2014 to 6.1 bcm last year, taking Russian market share from 34% in 2014 to 18%.

The past year also brought a significant increase in imports by private traders and gas consumers from the European market, as Naftogaz tests private energy markets for the first time. Naftogaz bought 1.1 bcm of gas from private companies compared to 0.14 bcm in 2014. The change comes on the heels of a new regulatory framework announced in October that is preparing the Ukrainian energy market for privatization.

Yet, even though 63% of Ukrainian-bound natural gas is coming from Europe, the three biggest single country suppliers are largely dependent on Russia. Meaning…Ukraine is still importing natural gas sourced from Russia.

Read more in Forbes here.

The War in Ukraine Is Back -- So Why Won’t Anyone Say So?

Violence in East Ukraine is spiking but Western pols are silent.

Russia’s dirty war in Ukraine is far from frozen, and despite the deteriorating situation, the West appears keen to turn a blind eye.

While the fighting in southeast Ukraine has rumbled on incessantly throughout the winter, inducing conflict fatigue and a drop in media coverage, the last weeks have seen a marked spike in the number of attacks.

Ukrainian officials are reporting up to 71 attacks a day, with most of the fighting concentrated around the separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Gorlovka, as well as the countryside east of the Azov port city of Mariupol.

Read more from The Daily Beast here.

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