Ukraine operator to suspend Russian gas flow via Sokhranivka entry point

　　div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpBy Susanna Twidalep

　　pLONDON Reuters Ukraines gas system operator GTSOU said on Tuesday it would declare force majeure on the transportation of Russian gas through the Sokhranivka entry point, with flows stopping on May 11. pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

　　pUkraine has continued to be a major transit route for Russian gas to Europe even after Russias invasion of the country on Feb. 24.p

　　pGTSOU said it could not carry out operations at the Novopskov gas compressor station at the site due to “the interference of the occupying forces in technical processes.”p

　　pThe Novopskov compressor station in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine has been occupied by Russian forces and separatist fighters since soon after the invasion began.p

　　pIt is the first compressor in the Ukraine gas transit system in the Luhansk region, the transit route for around 32.6 million cubic metres of gas a day, or a third of the Russian gas going to Europe through Ukraine GTSOU said.p

　　p“To fulfill its transit obligations to European partners in full and following the terms of the agreement, it is possible to temporarily transfer unavailable capacity from the ‘Sokhranivka’ physical interconnection point to the ‘Sudzha’ physical interconnection point located in the territory controlled by Ukraine,” GTSOU said in a statement.p

　　p Reporting by Susanna Twidale Editing by Edmund Blairp

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