The Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline was built in the Soviet era to carry Siberian gas to European markets. It became the main conduit to Ukraine’s border with Slovakia from Siberia, passing through the town of Sudzha — which is now under the control of Ukrainian military forces — in Russia’s Kursk region.

Vladimir Putin might have lost a slice of revenue after Kyiv closed its gas pipeline to Russian supplies, but Moscow already has alternatives for shipping the fuel that stand to shield it from any serious economic hit.

As the last of the gas flowing via Ukraine to Europe runs out, Russian gas will no longer be making its way to Europe, marking the end of a decades-long arrangement. Russia had already cut off most supplies through the Baltic and Belarus-Poland pipelines after the Ukraine/Russia war started,