As 2025 stuck, so did an updated Ukrainian approach to Russian gas. On January 1, 2025, a five-year deal that upheld transmission of Russian gas through Ukraine expired and remained unrenewed.
It is expected that Gazprom, Russia’s majority state-owned gas company, will lose nearly $5 billion in gas sales as a result of this decision. Though, Ukraine may “lose up to $1 billion a year in transit fees from Russia.” Ukraine’s choice to end the transit of Russian gas through its territory is a demonstration of persistence to fight Russia on all fronts possible. The benefit of taking money out of the Russian economy outweighs the costs Ukraine may bear.
Yevheniia Pohorila is a second year IE student and is Ukrainian. “The money that Russia gets, most of it, they put it into the military. So, the less money they have the less danger there is… the less opportunities they have,” Pohorila said. “Reducing the amount of money that Russia has means that they have less money for the military, which directly goes into the safety of myself, of my family,” she added.
Ukraine does not stand alone in its efforts to slow down and stop Russia. Despite the many challenges thus far, Ukraine has experienced European solidarity and American support. The EU, the US, and Ukraine all have imposed a multitude of sanctions against Russia. Some of which have been in place since 2014, while others were imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
The EU’s sanctions are wide in application: “The sanctions include targeted restrictive measures (individual sanctions), economic sanctions, diplomatic measures and visa measures.” Individuals in government positions – including, but not limited to, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, high-ranking military officials, members of the Duma – face sanctions that freeze their foreign assets and place them under travel bans, as do influential Russian oligarchs and propagandists. In this sense, these sanctions are aimed at not only slowing down the Russian economy but also at taming the influence of anything that could propel the power of the Russian state.
The US imposed a wave of around 500 sanctions against Russia in early 2024. Though sanctions have evidently not stopped Russia, they contribute to slowing it down in its war-waging efforts. The UK also had its own round of new sanctions at the same time.
Such support, in combination with Ukraine’s recent decision, will hopefully lead to strained Russian war efforts. Not to mention, the stoppage of transit of Russian gas through Ukraine can lead to many additional benefits. According to Reuters, consumers across the EU will not experience a price increase from the end of Russian gas imports, unlike in 2022 when the full-scale war began.
The share of Russia’s pipeline gas in EU imports dropped from over 40% in 2021 to about 8% in 2023.
EU Consilium
Since the start of the full-scale war, the EU has increasingly turned to new sources of liquefied natural gas (LNG), along with the use of diverse, cleaner energies. This decrease in gas sourcing from Russia – which is surely more marginal today – has increased the amount of gas sourced from the US as well as Norway. It is expected that Ukraine’s decision to cut transmission of Russian gas will only further strengthen the prevalent role of these two providers. Last year, the US supplied about half of total European LNG imports, and demand for US sourcing might rise in response to these recent developments.
Though Europe has bought much less LNG from the US in the last year, this is due to the aforementioned European shift towards renewable energy sources. According to Oilprice, “Solar and wind power’s share of electricity generation in Europe jumped from around 16.4% in 2022 to 20.5% … in 2024 while fossil fuel generation’s share dropped from around 44.6% in 2022 to 36.6% so far this year.”
While it is difficult to transition away from traditional gas use, now is a good moment for the EU – and the European continent as a whole – to transition further away from fossil fuels and increase investment in renewable energies. Not to mention, the future of US and EU trade relations are in a state of uncertainty as the new Trump Administration has yet to reveal its full international economic agenda. Ultimately, becoming self-sufficient in energy is the best goal to pursue for Europe, and it is of utmost importance to prioritize sustainable energy when it comes to the environment.
Though there are many possible positives caused by these recent developments, it is important that everyone plays their part. While the EU can sanction Russia and provide financial support for the Ukrainian military, there are a multitude of bottom-up ways to help as well.
What you can do is buy from Ukrainian brands because that is what goes straight to the Ukrainian economy: clothes, accessories, everything… That helps a lot because that money goes into the Ukrainian economy, and it’s the money that goes to taxes, and the taxes go to the defense.
She also suggested looking for methods of investment in Ukraine. Recently, the EU established the Ukraine Investment Framework, designed to attract public and private investment for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Another alternative to help Ukraine is by participating in fundraising. In terms of large fundraisers, “we have the United 24, which was founded by the president. And if you want to send it to the military, [or] to education, [etc,] you can choose where you want to donate. Then, we have another thing called … Come Back Alive which is for military purposes only,” Pohorila said. Another large fundraising entity is the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation. “Also, if people have Ukrainian friends, they probably also at some point share or start their own fundraiser which is usually for friends, for close people. All the fundraisers I do – like one each month at least – most of them are for the people I know,” Pohorila continued.
“I know a lot of people who are in the military, in the front line. And, for example, their car broke down, or their drone broke down. So then, we as friends start a fundraiser and we have to raise thousands of euros, which is a lot for us as students, but we divide the goal … and together we raise it by asking people to donate one, two, five euros,” Pohorila said. Engaging with or participating in fundraisers, especially the interpersonal ones, can go a long way.
However, it is true that not everyone has the financial means to constantly engage with fundraising on the donation end. For this reason, Pohorila suggests an additional idea: “Something pretty basic, I would say, that students can do, because it doesn’t require any money, is just to spread the word. In the first year of the full-scale war, Ukraine was everywhere… But now, there is too much happening,” seemingly causing less coverage on Ukraine’s situation. “If someone reshares a post, for example on instagram, even something as simple as that [helps],” Pohorila said.
Another alternative is boycotting brands that still operate in Russia. These companies pay taxes on the profits they make in Russia, hence giving proceeds to the government and propelling its agenda. “Big brands like Pepsico, or Procter & Gamble. There are a lot of them that are still there,” Pohorila said.
As it stands now, the future is open-ended, and anyone can help determine it. Find trending Ukrainian clothing brands listed on Village, and other diverse Ukrainian brands on Buy For Ukraine. Beyond the above-linked major fundraisers, donations can also be made to specific fundraisers for specific areas: education (Saved Foundation and Teach For Ukraine), medicine (Leleka Foundation and Hospitallers), rebuilding (Building Ukraine Together), and other humanitarian focused organizations (East SOS, Voices of Children, and Razom).
On brands to boycott, find brand names listed on Leave Russia and Boycott Russia. Keep in mind these include, but are far from limited to, PepsiCo, Nestle, and Procter & Gamble.
And, for those seeking to keep up with news on Ukraine, United24Media, Svidomi, Kyiv Independent, UKRAÏNER, and Saint Javelin are diverse media sources that consistently post on Instagram. Additionally, the New York Times has a section dedicated to news on the Russia-Ukraine War.
Overall, there are various ways to help Ukraine. There is a choice to be made between being a bystander and being a protagonist for Ukraine’s cause.
Featured image provided by Reuters.
