Russia swiftly named the “culprits” responsible for Ukraine’s decision to shut off its gas supply from Russia. The Kremlin falsely asserts that “the US, the puppet Kyiv government, and the leaders of European states that put their own populations’ welfare at risk” are solely to blame for stopping Russian gas shipments to Europe, TruthMeter wrote.
Ukraine stopped transfering Russian gas to Central Europe on the first day of 2025. The Russian energy giant Gazprom declared that there were no legal or technical options for continuing to pump gas through Ukraine’s pipelines after Kyiv refused to extend the transit deal.
The deal ensured for years that Russian gas would reach Central Europe via pipes in Ukraine. But in a calculated move to deny Russia more funds to support its aggressive war against Ukraine, Kyiv decided to stop this flow. Ukrainian Energy Minister Hermann Galushchenko clarified that this choice is unquestionably in the country’s best interests. The gas shutdown, he said, was a “historic event.”
Ten years of hostilities, which started with Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, have come to an end with the closing of Russia’s oldest gas pipeline to Europe. Due to Ukraine’s persistent refusal to renew the deal, the suspension of gas transit was anticipated once the war began in February 2022. Historically, almost 50% of Russia’s pipeline gas exports to Europe have gone through Ukraine.
Since the gas transit agreement’s expiration has long been expected, European nations have had time to make the necessary preparations. It is not anticipated to have a major effect on gas prices because Europe has other sources of supply, according to a New York Times analysis.
Moscow cut gas supplies to Europe during Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in a spike in energy costs and forced several countries to enact emergency packages to aid needy residents and businesses. The majority of EU members responded by trying to lessen their dependency on Russian gas and looking for substitutes from nations like Azerbaijan and other suppliers.
Three EU members—Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia—continued to purchase significant quantities of energy from Russia even after the Russian invasion.
The Austrian government declared that it has found substitute suppliers and made proactive preparations for the suspension of Russian gas supplies from Ukraine. The Austrian energy firm OMV declared that it was “well positioned” with other supply sources and had ended its agreements with Gazprom.
The majority of the Russian gas is supplied by a different TurkStream route to Hungary, which has backed maintaining the Ukrainian gas pipeline operational.
Russian ruler Vladimir Putin’s close ally, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, has threatened to cut off Ukraine’s electrical supply in retribution if Ukraine does not extend the gas transit deal.
Russia launched a campaign against Ukraine over the halt of the gas transit targeting European audiences. As usual, officials’ statements were enhanced by propaganda media and bots on social platforms.
“The US, the puppet Kyiv administration, and the governments of European states that put their own citizens’ welfare last are solely to blame for stopping Russian gas shipments [to Europe],” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. According to her, “the decision to stop Russian gas supply to European citizens was made by Ukrainian authorities, even though Gazprom was carrying out its contractual responsibilities.”
She claims that “the disruption of supplies of affordable and sustainable Russian energy not only reduces Europe’s economic potential but also has a detrimental effect on the level of living for its people.”
“The geopolitical basis of Kyiv’s decision is what is visible, and the main benefit of the redistribution of the European energy market is the United States,” she said.
In Europe, pro-Russian agents of influence spread such stories on the social media platforms.
“Ukraine is a US project made to destroy European economies. After closing the oil transit to Europe, Kyiv is now actively trying to sabotage the TurkStream Pipeline by order of Washington”, says one post.
“The stupidity of the EU! It may not buy gas directly from Russia, but it indirectly purchases it through the United States, multiple times, instead of purchasing it for a few percent more expensive. This impact is reflected in all prices, including those for food, heating, and industry. The United States is demanding a complete termination of Russian gas delivery to Europe despite opposition from many countries,” another post said.
There is no proof that Ukraine’s decision to stop Russian gas transportation across its borders when the previous transit deal expired was influenced by an outside party. Reducing Russian income that continues to fund the Russian war against Ukraine is the aim of this move. According to some estimations, shutting down this pipeline might cost Russia $6.5 billion annually in gas state revenue.
“This disinformation story aims to promote several recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about European and Ukrainian alleged lack of sovereignty and submission to the US by framing this step as intended to advance the US’s interests,” according to Euvsdisinfo.
Russian misinformation and its effects on the Visegrad Group nations’ energy industries
The Warsaw Institute reports that Russia’s hybrid warfare approach primarily targets the energy sector, which is a vital component of the national security of the Visegrad Group (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, nations that heavily depend on Russian gas and oil imports).
Cyberattacks on vital energy infrastructure and extensive disinformation efforts on traditional and social media platforms are important tactics. Disinformation operations frequently highlight purported inefficiencies or shortcomings in Western-aligned energy projects in an effort to throw doubt on their efficacy.
According to the Institute’s analysis, Russian disinformation has targeted important energy diversification projects in Poland, including the Baltic Pipe and the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście. The purpose of these stories was to cast doubt on Poland’s capacity to properly transition away from Russian gas. Poland shows resistance to such disinformation by continuing to support these projects politically and publicly in spite of their efforts.
The Warsaw Institute claims that Russian narratives have also been used against the Czech Republic and Slovakia, undercutting the importance of nuclear power in their energy policy. Disinformation efforts have challenged plans to increase nuclear capacity by highlighting inflated environmental hazards and potential reliance on Western technologies. At the same time, narratives suggesting that Czech dependence on Russian gas was inevitable were promoted by pro-Russian media groups.
There has been a particularly strong disinformation effort against Hungary, with Russian narratives claiming that Hungary’s economy has been disproportionately harmed by EU sanctions against Russia. The purpose of these narratives was to stoke anti-EU sentiment and paint energy diversification initiatives as damaging or pointless.
According to the report, Russian disinformation in the energy sector has targeted the Visegrad Group nations with customized tactics meant to undermine attempts at energy diversification and promote division. Despite its weakened status as a major energy supplier, Russia is attempting to retain its influence in the region through hacking and disinformation.
These initiatives include spreading manipulations and fakes about the inefficiency of energy projects supported by the West, inflating the price of switching to alternative energy sources, and raising concerns about the dependability of new infrastructure like LNG terminals and interconnectors.
