Ukraine says Russia increased gas pipeline pressure without prior notice

Russian gas giant Gazprom GAZP.MM has sharply increased pressure in the pipeline that delivers Russian gas to Europe without prior notice, the Ukrainian state pipeline operator company said on Tuesday.

Such pressure spikes could lead to emergencies including pipeline ruptures, and pipeline operators are obliged to inform each other about them in advance, the Ukrainian company said.

Gazprom could not be immediately reached for comment.

Russia has continued to pump gas through Ukraine even as the two countries are engaged in war. On Monday, Gazprom said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine was seen at 41.7 million cubic metres (mcm) on Monday versus 41.2 mcm a day earlier.

At the same time, citing instructions from an industry watchdog, Gazprom on Monday said gas flows to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline – which bypasses Ukraine – would fall to 33 million cubic metres per day from Wednesday.

That is half of the current flows, which are already only 40% of normal capacity.