According to Maksym Bielawski, the former PR director of Naftogaz and now an expert of the Razumkov Centre, problems with transit arose because the Russians unilaterally decided to change the mode of payments for the transit and to conduct it in roubles. It is the same scheme that Putin tried to impose on Western companies for gas payments.

Russia's "Gazprombank" opened a special rouble account for the "Transneft" company, where the funds went, to be transferred to a similar account of "Ukrtransnafta", also with "Gazprombank".

"Of course, Ukraine could not switch to such payment scheme and open an account with a bank of the aggressor country. After the payment under the old scheme did not come, the transit was stopped. However, the Russians expected that this would happen. They hardly thought that the final buyers would pay for the transit themselves," says Bielawski.

According to him, the Russians used the interruption of oil transit via Ukraine as an informational pretext for their propaganda, referring to the words of the Energy Minister adviser, Lana Zerkal, that Ukraine could use Druzhba oil pipeline as a tool of influence on Hungary.

Bielawski says that Russia tries to use such news hooks to put pressure on the policy of European countries on the gas market, so, the situation with the interruption of oil transit took place within the framework of an informational war.

"On August 10, the European Union finally stopped imports of Russian coal, there has been strong confrontation over the delivery of a turbine for Nord Stream-1 and an attempt to restart Nord Stream-2. The stoppage of transit may also be an element of a comprehensive strategy aiming to split the EU in the context of resource confrontation. The entire Russian elite are former KGB officers, and such actions are a usual tool of foreign policy for them," says Bielawski.

The expert also suggests that the stoppage of oil pumping could not but affect the consistency of oil supply to Ukraine. However, the Russians did not expect that the European counterparts would pay for the transit themselves.