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 and 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 claimed control of three more Ukrainian villages in the ongoing strife.
In Athens, Zelensky stated that deliveries of US LNG would begin in January, emphasizing that the need for imports stems from the destruction wrought by Russian assaults on domestic energy production facilities. He remarked, 'Greece is becoming an energy security provider for your homeland'.
Kyiv has allocated nearly €2bn towards gas imports from European partners and banks, as it gears up to face the upcoming winter, exacerbated by an energy crisis fueled by ongoing Russian military attacks on energy infrastructure.
The Soviet-era Trans-Balkan pipeline will link Ukraine to LNG terminals in Greece through Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria, providing a vital conduit for energy supplies amid rising tensions.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that intensified attacks on energy networks pose severe risks for Ukrainians as winter approaches.
