Ukraine Cuts Off Russian Gas — What’s the EU’s Next Move?

On January 1, the flow of gas was cut off at both the entry point of the Ukrainian pipeline system on the Russian-Ukrainian border and the exit point on Ukraine’s border with Slovakia. This came following the expiration of a five-year agreement between Ukraine’s Naftogaz and Russia’s Gazprom.

Kyiv justified this decision on the grounds of national security, noting that Russia partially funds its war efforts against Ukraine through the sale of natural resources.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described it as one of Moscow’s major defeats. Similarly, most EU politicians broadly welcome it and claim that it will not have an impact on the bloc’s economy or energy prices.

Meanwhile, the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is strongly opposed to the move. In his New Year’s Address, Fico warned of “drastic consequences” this would have on the entire EU. The small land-locked country is causing headaches for the EU.

Along with Austria and Hungary, a bloc is forming that is increasingly critical of the EU’s support of Ukraine. Indeed, Fico went so far to question why Slovakia should suffer financially due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

So, with this anti-Ukrainian political bloc, what’s the future of support for Ukraine in 2025 and beyond? And what steps can the EU make to guarantee Ukraine’s security in the months to come?

Let me explain.

“When Putin was…