Russian Gas Giant May Cut Off Supplies to Europe After Allegations of Ukrainian Theft

Russian gas giant Gazprom has threatened to cut off all gas supplies to Europe after alleging that Ukraine stole gas that was meant to transit through the country to Moldova.

The Russian state-owned energy supplier threatened to cut off all remaining supplies to Europe this week after claiming that Ukraine had stolen transiting gas that was meant for the neighbouring country of Moldova.

Gazprom stated that supplies from the last remaining pipeline to Europe could be cut as early as November 28th, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reports.

According to a post on the encrypted messaging app Telegram by the Russian company, the amount of gas that crossed into Moldova was much less than the amount that had initially been shipped across the border from Russia into Ukraine.

After issuing the threat, the price of natural gas increased by around two per cent, with gas futures rising by four per cent.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has denied the allegations made by Gazprom, with the Ukrainian gas transmission system operator (GTSOU) saying, “Russia is not the first to use gas as a tool of political pressure. This is a gross manipulation of facts in order to justify the decision to further limit the volume of gas supplies to European countries.”

Gazprom’s threat to cut off the last remaining Russian gas to Europe comes as countries across the European Union are bracing for an energy crisis over the winter months.

Germany, which claims to have a current gas storage level of 99.55 per cent, is also feeling the effects of being largely cut off from Russian gas, which the country was largely dependent on in previous years.

A report from earlier this month claimed the German economy has lost as much as $100 billion due to the ongoing gas crisis, around three per cent of the country’s entire economic output.

The head of Germany’s utility network has called for the German government to go even further and sign a “solidarity pact” on gas with the United Kingdom to fend off a potentially serious energy crisis over the winter.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.