REUTERS
The construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
Losses of Ukraine from the construction by Russia's Gazprom of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline may amount to US$3 billion a year.
"Nord Stream 2 is a much broader issue than just a gas issue. It concerns the security of Ukraine and it will not be an exaggeration to say that it is a matter of our survival," CEO of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine Andriy Kobolyev said at a forum in Kyiv on September 15, the Ekonomichna Pravda news outlet said.
"If we do not have gas transit, this will open the door for a full military invasion by Russia of Ukraine. This is not only a matter of money for Naftogaz, but also a security issue. Not only ours, but of the whole EU," he said, adding that Ukraine now earns about $3 billion a year from gas transit shipments.
"If Nord Stream 2 is launched now, the project can be completed in two years. As soon as this happens, all estimates show that there will be no gas transit through Ukraine," Kobolyev said.
Read alsoRussia gives no guarantees of continued gas transit via Ukraine after 2019 - Kobolyev
In this case, part of the transit will go through TurkStream, and the remaining amount of gas will be pumped through Nord Stream 2.
"The $3 billion, or 3% of our gross domestic product, will be a huge loss for us. It's a huge sum," Naftogaz's CEO summed up.
In late July, Nord Stream 2 began to lay the first pipes to build the controversial pipeline through which natural gas will be supplied directly from Russia to Germany.
The construction of the gas pipeline, which is criticized by Ukraine, the Baltic States, Poland and the United States, is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.