Due to the opening this year of Turkish Stream, a Russian gas line bypassing Ukraine, the volume of Russian gas transiting Ukraine fell by 45% during the first half of this year,

Due to the opening this year of Turkish Stream, a Russian gas line bypassing Ukraine, the volume of Russian gas transiting Ukraine fell by 45% during the first half of this year, compared to January-June of 2019. If Russia opens a duplicate pipe next year, Ukraine will lose another 15 billion cubic meters of transit gas, says Sergiy Makogon, head of the state-owned GTS Operator of Ukraine. Under the ‘pump or pay’ contract signed last December with Russia, Gazprom pays for moving 65 bcm across Ukraine this year. During the first half of this year, Gazprom has shipped only 77% of the contracted amount.