Ukraine sits on the main transit route for Russia`s gas exports to Europe
Ukraine transported 55.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe in the past five months, up 26 percent compared with the same period of last year, the country`s gas transit firm Ukrtransgaz said Monday, according to Xinhua.
Ukraine sits on the main transit route for Russia`s gas exports to Europe, where a quarter of its gas needs is supplied by Russia."The increase was mainly due to a growth in Russian energy company Gazprom`s gas exports to Europe in order to meet the demand of its customers," Ukrtransgaz said in a statement.
Ukraine and Russia had several disputes over gas prices and supply in recent years, which briefly affected the EU in 2006, when Russia cut supplies.
Ukraine`s state energy firm Naftogaz signed a 2008 supply deal with Russia`s energy company Gazprom in April, after weeks of wrangling over Ukraine`s debt and another supply cut at the beginning of March.
The capacity of the Ukrainian gas transportation system allows the transit of 142.5 billion cubic meters to European countries a year.