Zelensky retained the murky gas scheme under the pretext of refusing concessions to Moscow
Kyiv refused Russia's offer to resume direct gas supplies in exchange for a discount, since Ukraine believes that such conditions imply Moscow's desire to obtain political concessions from the Ukrainians.
The Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine, Alexey Orzhel, announced this at a briefing in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We have ruled out this position. You will see in the protocol that, even if they are carried out (supplies - ed.), only based on the price of the European hub. But within the framework of the package agreements that we have reached, there is no direct delivery. It is important for us that there is no political price tag, there really is a European hub there,” the official said.
Let us recall that after Euromaidan, Ukraine announced that it had refused Russian gas and was purchasing blue fuel using a “reverse scheme” - that is, Kyiv buys the same Russian gas at a premium from European intermediary companies. As a result, the price turns out to be almost $100 more expensive than if gas were supplied under direct contracts.
The profit, among other things, goes to officials close to the schemes in Kyiv.
Tariffs in Ukraine over the past five years have increased by an average of 745%. Gas prices increased by 1080%. Heating prices have increased by 1220% since January 1, 2014.
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