Updated 7:27 p.m. Moscow Time
KIEV, September 10 (RIA Novosti) - Poland has stopped reversed deliveries of Russian gas to Ukraine, the head of Ukrainian gas transport network operator Ukrtransgaz said Wednesday.
“Today Russia started limiting gas deliveries to Poland in order to disrupt reversed deliveries from Poland. At 2:00 p.m. [local time, 11:00 GMT] Poland stopped reversed deliveries of about 4 million cubic meters of gas to Ukraine,” Ihor Prokopiv said.
Earlier today, Dorota Gajewska, the spokesperson for Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA (PGNiG), Polish largest oil and gas exploration and production company, announced that the supply of Russian gas to Poland fell by 20% on Monday and by 24% on Tuesday, compared to planned volumes. PGNiG reassured that the shortage of Russian gas will not affect consumers.
The exact reasons for the reduction of the gas supply are not yet known.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gazprom warned that Russia could reduce gas supplies to Europe, if Ukraine siphons off supplies going to Europe. However, on July 1, Putin said that Moscow would not aggravate the situation, although it saw the artificiality of reverse gas supplies from Europe to Ukraine.
Poland started reverse-flow gas supply to Ukraine in April.
