Russian gas supplies to European Union states via Ukraine have been halted, shutting down Moscow’s oldest gas route to the continent.

The five-year gas transit deal between Russia and Ukraine ended in the early hours of 1 January. The move was expected after Kyiv repeatedly said it would not extend the agreement amid the ongoing war.

“We have stopped the transit of Russian gas,” Ukrainian Energy Minister Gaulushchenko said in a statement.

“This is a historic event. Russia is losing its markets, it will suffer financial losses. Europe has already made the decision to abandon Russian gas.”

Russian fuel Gazprom is expected to lose approximately $ five billion (3. 9 billion pounds sterling) in fuel sales due to the stop.

However, the country still exports gas via the TurkStream pipeline in the Black Sea. TurkStream has two lines – one for the Turkish domestic market and the other supplying central European customers including Hungary and Serbia.

The EU has stepped up efforts to lessen its dependence on Russian power through election resources after Russia’s invasion in 2022.

The European Commission said on Wednesday that the bloc is ready for lockdown and that the fuel infrastructure “flexible enough to get non-Russian-sourced fuel to the routes of choice in Central and Eastern Europe. “

Remaining buyers of Russian gas including Slovakia said it would continue to supply customers using pipelines from Germany and Hungary, but would face additional costs in doing so.

While the Austrian power minister said the country had done its task and “is well ready for this scenario. “

Despite the preparation, the Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, said the transition will have a “drastic” effect on the EU and not at all in Russia.

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One of the worst affected countries is Moldova, which is not part of the EU and was once part of the Soviet Union.

The country said on Wednesday it will need to introduce measures to reduce its gas use by a third while the breakaway region of Transnistria – which is pro-Russian – said it has cut heating and hot water to households, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.

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The end of the agreement will also be loved for Ukraine. The country faces the loss of about $ 800 million (637 million pounds sterling) according to the year in Russia’s transit costs.