REUTERS

CEO of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine Andriy Kobolyev has said the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress voted for the bill on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2020, which also provides for sanctions against companies that provide for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

"The House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress has just overwhelmingly (377 against 48) supported the draft of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. In addition to the decision to provide $300 million military aid to Ukraine, the document also contains mandatory sanctions against companies involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2," he wrote on Facebook.

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Kobolyev said the next steps would be the vote in the U.S. Senate next week, enacting by U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as implementation.

UNIAN memo. The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction and operation of two gas pipeline branches with a total throughput capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It should connect Russia's Ust-Lug and Germany's Greifswald.

This new pipeline bypassing Ukraine is to be built next to the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The construction of the pipeline should be completed before the end of 2019. The pipeline will be 1,220 km long.

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The project is being implemented by Russia's Gazprom in alliance with European companies – ENGIE, OMV, Shell, Uniper, and Wintershall.

Ukraine stands against the construction of Nord Stream 2 as it will most likely lose its status of a gas transit country, while its potential revenue losses are estimated at US$3 billion annually. The project is also highly criticized by the U.S., Poland, and the Baltic States.