The historic first marks a milestone in Washington’s bid to replace Russia as Europe’s top source of natural gas.

Russian gas supplies sent via Ukraine to Europe for more than 40 years are scheduled to end on January 1 after Ukraine's Naftogaz refused to renew its latest five-year transit deal with Russia's Gazprom.

Ukraine on Wednesday halted Russian gas supplies to European customers through its pipeline network after a prewar transit deal expired at the end of 2024 and almost three years into Moscow's all-out invasion of its neighbor.

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.

Poland's Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, welcomed the end of Russian gas transit via Ukraine as another victory over Moscow. On the social media network X (formerly Twitter), the head of Polish diplomacy was quick to express his satisfaction,