Ukraine must hold Russia's EU energy exports hostage as deterrence - ex-Naftogaz CEO
Read NV on Google
Ukraine must seek exclusive Russian gas transit rights (Photo: REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)
Ukraine must secure exclusive transit rights for Russian energy to Europe in future peace talks to maintain leverage and deter Moscow, ex-Naftogaz CEO Andrii Kobolyev told Radio NV on Oct. 16.
Kyiv should not operate under the illusion that Russia will remain permanently excluded from the European energy system. Consequently, Ukraine must actively participate in trilateral talks shaping the continent's long-term energy architecture.
"Our task is not to speculate on whether Europe will refuse or not. We need to secure a seat at the negotiating table between Europe, the United States, and Russia, where the energy future is being decided," Kobolyev asserted.
He argued that any future peace arrangement must restore the strategic equilibrium in which Ukraine played an indispensable role in transiting Russian hydrocarbons westward.
"This balance must be restored. Energy resources must once again become our hostage. A key factor deterring Russia from aggression in the future must be the understanding that if aggression resumes, this flow will once again be completely cut off," the former Naftogaz chief explained.
The Pitfall of "Total Refusal"
Kobolyev explicitly cautioned Ukrainian leadership against adopting an intransigent stance by refusing to discuss future energy transit modalities, warning that dogmatism will only result in decisions being finalized behind Kyiv's back.
"The single most harmful idea for Ukraine is to adopt a posture of being 'categorically against everything'. If we do that, we will simply be removed from the negotiating table, and a real possibility will arise that Nord Stream will be restarted without us," he warned.
With the eventual re-entry of Russian energy into European supply chains remaining a plausible long-term scenario, Kobolyev emphasized that Ukraine must proactively shape favorable transit conditions rather than relying solely on the permanence of current sanctions regimes.
"The question is whether we become the beneficiaries of this return or its victims. It is far better to be a beneficiary than a victim," he stressed.
Exclusive Rights, Not Mere Participation
Kobolyev underlined that Ukraine's objective should not merely be secondary involvement in pipeline transit, but a monopolistic operational mandate over all westbound flows.
"Not just participation, but exclusively. This is the critical point — we must obtain the exclusive right. If we secure this exclusive right, then it cannot be Nord Stream. It has to be us," Kobolyev concluded.
The five-year gas transit contract between Gazprom and Naftogaz expired on Jan. 1, 2025, after which Ukraine formally halted the commercial flow of Russian natural gas across its domestic transmission system.
The termination ended decades of continuous pipeline transit through Ukraine's Druzhba and Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod corridors, shifting remaining Russian gas deliveries to the TurkStream maritime pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to Southern Europe.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
