Russian gas exports during the war in Ukraine
Natural gas was one the commodities most affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In response to the war, Germany halted the certification of Nord Stream 2, a pipeline from Russia to Germany with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters. Furthermore, gas prices increased across the world, particularly in the U.S. and Europe. The U.S. completely banned energy imports from Russia, while European countries pledged to reduce their reliance on Russian gas by diversifying imports, saving energy, and using more renewables. At the end of June 2022, Russia stopped supplying gas to Poland and Bulgaria after the governments of these countries rejected demands of the Russian administration to pay for gas in Russian rubles. Ukraine continued to transit Russian gas to European countries during the war; however, it stopped operating one of the transit points, Sokhranivka, due to safety reasons.Energy security in Germany could be threatened by the reduction of gas supply via Nord Stream 1, which is undergoing maintenance. A gas turbine needed for the pipeline, which was sent for repair to Canada, was held by that country due to trade sanctions on Russia, but it was released in July 2022. In case of a potential gas shutoff by Russia, Germany's GDP growth forecast for 2023 was expected to be lowered by 2.7 percent from the baseline. Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary were projected to experience the most significant gas shortfall under that scenario, at 40 percent of their annual demand.