On 3 February, 2022 V.Omelchenko, Director of Energy and Infrastructure Programmes of the Razumkov Centre took part in the talk show Energy Freedom by Energy Club “How can Ukraine get rid of Transit Dependence?”.

Leading energy experts of Ukraine H.Ryabtsev and M.Honchar also took part in the discussion on the important issue of energy security regarding the prospects of the Ukrainian gas transit system of Ukraine (GTS).

During the discussion, V.Omelchenko, in particular, highlighted the importance of maintaining the transit role of Ukraine until 2035. If the GTS operator OGTSU is deprived of the opportunity to provide transit services due to the start of operation of the bypass gas pipeline Nord Stream-2, it will not only cause additional significant financial problems for OGTSU and the state budget, but also considerably complicate management of gas supplies to some regions of Ukraine.

At the same time, V.Omelchenko emphasized that the efforts of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic States alone are not enough to prevent the implementation of the Nord Stream-2 project. This requires the politicians and the public of Europe's most economically powerful countries, especially Germany, to realize that the Kremlin considers the project not so much as a commercial one but as a dangerous energy weapon aimed at destroying Europe's security foundations.