In another sign of the vulnerability of Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, state-owned pipeline operators said on Tuesday that oil had stopped flowing through the southern branch of the main link to Eastern Europe.
Transneft, which manages Russian pipelines, said July payments to Ukrainian artery operator Ukrtransnafta had been returned. Transneft blamed problems related to European sanctions aimed at punishing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
In response, Ukraine has suspended oil deliveries to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic via pipelines, according to Transneft. The three countries are exempt from a European Union decision to ban imports of Russian oil beginning later this year.
Ukrtransnafta could not be reached for comment.
Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic are at the southern end of the Cold War pipeline, dubbed Druzhba, the Russian word for friendship. All three countries, which rely heavily on Russia to meet their energy needs, have asked European partners to exempt pipelined oil from a ban on imports from Russia passed in Brussels in late May. worked.
Germany, which is located at the northern end of the pipeline and continues to receive oil from Russia as well, was not affected by the disruption, Transneft said.
Since invading Ukraine in February, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin has shown a willingness to use control of the energy plugs as leverage over Europe. He also showed a knack for keeping his opponents off balance by sending mixed signals and trying to pit Western allies against each other.
In the spring, Russia cut its natural gas supplies to several European countries, starting with Bulgaria and Poland and adding Finland. In June, the day the leaders of France, Germany and Italy visited Kyiv, those countries, as well as Austria and the Czech Republic, reported a shortage of Russian gas supplies.
The flow via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany, Europe’s main consumer of Russian gas, was cut by 60% and then by 80%. Moscow blamed the disruption on a pipeline component being refurbished by a German company at a Canadian factory, sparking tensions between Ottawa and Berlin.
