Russia is unlikely to resume natural gas deliveries to Europe via Ukrainian pipelines anytime soon, the Kremlin said Monday, downplaying reports that the option was being discussed as part of a proposed winter energy ceasefire.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the Trump administration suggested the idea during talks in September as an incentive for Moscow to halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid. According to U.S. and European officials, advocates of the plan argued it would also allow Ukraine to collect transit fees while helping lower European heating costs.
Under the proposal, Russian gas would be sold through a U.S. intermediary to navigate European sanctions, with proceeds placed in an offshore escrow account to prevent Moscow from using the funds to finance its war effort.
“Frankly, the situation on the ground speaks all too clearly to the fact that those kinds of plans are impossible to implement right now,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a daily briefing. “But as for what the future holds, we’ll see.”
Peskov said any renewal of gas shipments through Ukraine would “depend on the willingness of buyers, the willingness of sellers and the capacity of sellers.”
He noted that, while the European energy market remains a “premium one,” countries in the Global South have demonstrated themselves as “centers of economic growth,” meaning that their consumption of oil and gas will only increase in the coming years, with Moscow poised to supply all of their energy needs.
Russian gas shipments to Europe by pipeline have largely stopped since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Brussels has committed to ending all imports of Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027.
According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a U.S.-based think tank, the EU imported 6.9 billion cubic meters of Russian gas in the first three months of 2026, a 16% increase from the first quarter of last year and the highest volume since 2022.
Still, Russia now accounts for just 11% of Europe’s natural gas consumption, down from 45% on the eve of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
AFP contributed reporting.
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