This is CBSI on the world. I'm John Batchel. Russian sanctions. The Ukraine war. Michael Bernstam,

I wish him a good new year. We begin again. Michael, a very good evening to you. We begin with the story

that appeared on New Year's Day in the Financial Times. Russian gas stops flowing through Ukraine.

Who gave the order to stop the gas flow? And what does it mean? Good evening to you. Good evening to you. Happy New Year to everyone.

It was a five-year contract signed in 2019, expired on midnight of the new year.

Ended on December 31st, 24.

The discussion was for a few months whether Ukraine would renew it or not,

and Ukraine decided not to renew it, and that's it.

And let's look at the big picture.

So what it means is that Russia is losing, because this transit will not go,

this gas will not go to Europe, Russia is losing about $6.5 billion a year. Ukraine charged $1 billion

a year for transit, but of that, of course, there was equipment and other costs. So the Ukrainian

profit was about 200 million a year. So it's not a big deal for them. And they will recoup.

They will receive a lot of money because now they have the largest gas storages in Central and Eastern Europe.

Their gas storages are largest than all gas storages in Germany.

And so what is going on now, that American and other, Ellen Gilli, we fight natural gas,

goes to Greece and other countries, goes to Ukraine through the Black Sea, through the

straits through the Black Sea, and it is regasified and Ukraine stores it and Ukraine ships it

to Europe.

The United States will easily replace this amount because the amount of gas was not critical for Europe.

In the past it was.

So in 1998, it was 140 billion cubic meters a year, this transit.

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