European Union countries imported a record amount of liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Yamal LNG project in the first half of 2026, despite the gradual implementation of a ban on Russian gas supplies, the Financial Times reported, citing data from the analytics firm Kpler and the environmental organization Urgewald.
According to the publication, European countries received approximately 9.9 million metric tons of LNG from “Yamal LNG” between January and June, which is about 18% more than during the same period in 2025. This marks the highest half-year figure since exports from the project began in 2017.
Reuters cites slightly different operational data: according to Kpler, shipments to the EU totaled 9.97 million metric tons and increased by 16%. The discrepancy between the figures may be due to updates in information regarding tanker movements and the actual unloading dates of the shipments. Overall, both sources confirm imports of approximately 10 million metric tons and the setting of a new record.
In total, 140 tanker shipments were dispatched from Yamal LNG in the first half of the year. Of these, 136—or more than 97%—arrived at EU ports. China received only four shipments during the same period. Thus, the European market effectively absorbed nearly all exports from Russia’s largest Arctic LNG project.
The estimated value of the shipments delivered to the EU is 5.96 billion euros, or about 6.82 billion dollars. The main destinations were terminals in France, Belgium, and Spain.
The increase in imports occurred as European companies prepared for the final cessation of Russian gas supplies. According to estimates by the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), Russian LNG imports increased by 11% year-over-year in January–May 2026, while Russian pipeline gas supplies rose by 7%. Among the reasons cited by the agency is the early delivery of part of the contracted volumes before new restrictions took effect.
However, it is not yet accurate to say that the purchase of all Russian LNG is already banned in the EU. As of April 25, 2026, the ban applies to imports under short-term contracts concluded before June 17, 2025. Deliveries under previously concluded long-term contracts may continue until January 1, 2027. After that date, a complete ban on Russian LNG imports is set to take effect.
Therefore, a significant portion of Yamal LNG deliveries in the first half of the year could have been made under existing long-term contracts and did not formally violate European restrictions.
Data on the increase in the share of Russian gas in EU imports from 12% to 14% also requires clarification. According to the European Commission and the Council of the EU, Russian LNG and pipeline gas accounted for approximately 12% of European gas imports in 2025 overall. ACER estimated Russia’s share during the 2025–2026 winter season at approximately 14%. These figures relate to different periods and therefore cannot be directly interpreted as a definitive annual increase in market share of two percentage points.
The increase in supplies was also driven by the current restriction on the transshipment of Russian LNG at European ports for onward shipment to third countries. As a result, most of the gas arriving at EU terminals remains on the European market rather than being transshipped to other vessels for transport to Asia.
These record purchases highlight the tension between the EU’s policy of phasing out Russian energy sources and the need to ensure stable gas supplies amid a tight global market. At the same time, they highlight the Yamal LNG project’s dependence on European port, shipping, and financial infrastructure: with limited access to Asian routes, Russia has so far been unable to redirect a significant portion of its Arctic LNG to China.
The Yamal LNG project is located on the Yamal Peninsula in the Russian Arctic and is controlled by the Russian company Novatek. Novatek owns 50.1% of the project, with France’s TotalEnergies and China’s CNPC each holding 20%, and the Silk Road Fund holding 9.9%. The project’s production capacity is approximately 17.4 million metric tons of LNG per year.
The EU finalized its phased phase-out of Russian natural gas on January 26, 2026. A complete ban on Russian LNG is set to take effect on January 1, 2027, and on pipeline gas in the fall of 2027. In the event of a serious threat to energy supplies, the European Commission will be able to temporarily suspend certain restrictions for up to four weeks.
Original source Financial Times
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has granted permission to AB Diamant Ukraine LLC, whose ultimate beneficial owner is Chinese citizen Cai Yi, to acquire control over more than 50% of Power Energy Katyuzhanka LLC.
“AB Diamant Ukraine LLC has been granted permission to acquire control over Power Energy Katyuzhanka LLC through the direct purchase of shares in the authorized capital, which ensures a majority of more than 50% of the votes in the company’s highest governing body,” – states the AMCU’s decision dated July 9, 2026.
Power Energy Katyuzhanka LLC was founded on September 20, 2023, with a registered capital of 8.746 million UAH. The company’s primary activity is the production of electricity.
The ultimate beneficial owner of Power Energy Katyuzhanka LLC, holding a 100% stake, is Roman Petruchenko—co-founder of SPP Development Ukraine, a Ukrainian group of companies in the renewable energy sector.
On Monday, July 6, 2026, the first annual auctions for the allocation of combined capacity at cross-border interconnection points with Hungary, Romania, and Moldova will take place, according to a statement by the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System Operator (OGTSU) on its website.
“Information regarding the conduct of combined auctions at cross-border interconnection points with Poland and Slovakia will be announced separately,” the company noted.
GTS Operator of Ukraine explained that combined capacity products allow for the booking of capacity on both sides of a cross-border interconnection point within a single auction and a single capacity product.
“The introduction of the combined capacity mechanism is the result of close coordination between OGTSU, operators of adjacent gas transmission systems, national regulators, and European institutions,” said Natalia Boiko, the company’s acting CEO.
The company asserts that the introduction of combined capacity products will contribute to the further integration of the Ukrainian natural gas market into the EU internal market, improve the efficiency of cross-border infrastructure use, develop cross-border natural gas trade, and strengthen the region’s energy security.
The application period for the allocation of annual capacity at domestic entry and exit points runs from June 29, 2026, through July 13, 2026, inclusive.
As previously reported, the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities (NKREKP) adopted decisions at its June 23 meeting aimed at further integrating Ukraine’s gas market into the EU’s single natural gas market.
“The changes provide for the introduction of European rules for capacity allocation and tariff setting at cross-border interconnections of the gas transmission system,” the regulator stated.
In particular, the regulator has completed the regulatory steps to introduce joint auctions for capacity allocation at cross-border interconnections.
“This mechanism provides for the simultaneous allocation of capacity in the gas transmission systems of Ukraine and neighboring countries, which is in line with European practices for the functioning of the natural gas market,” the commission explained.
The new rules for allocating capacity at cross-border interconnections took effect in July 2026 and will apply to capacity used starting at the beginning of the new gas year—October 1, 2026.
To participate in auctions, customers of transportation services must enter into contracts not only with OGTSU but also with the operators of adjacent gas transmission systems in EU member states and the Republic of Moldova. A customer to whom combined capacity is allocated will have the right to transfer to another customer the right to submit nominations and renominations for such capacity.
AUCTION, ENERGY, GAS, INTEGRATION, ОГТСУ
The volume of imports of transformers, inductors, and chokes into Ukraine in January–May 2026 increased by 89% compared to the same period in 2025—reaching $738.9 million, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the published data, imports of these products in May rose by 45.8% compared to May of last year but fell by nearly half compared to April of this year, reaching $76.9 million.
Thus, the growth rate of imports has begun to slow compared to the same period last year, and the decline in imports relative to the previous month of 2026 is accelerating; specifically, in April of this year, the decline was 34% compared to March 2026.
As previously reported, in March of this year, the Cabinet of Ministers removed transformers from the list of goods eligible for preferential import under agreements with the EU Secretariat.
At the same time, in May, the European Business Association, in an official letter to First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, called for the introduction of a temporary exemption from import duties and VAT for certain types of power transformers.
According to the State Customs Service, China remains the largest supplier of these products to Ukraine. Over the past five months, $665.6 million worth of these goods were imported (90% of total imports of these goods), whereas a year earlier, $321.5 million worth of transformers and chokes were imported from China (82.3%).
In addition, transformers were imported from Turkey (2%) and Germany (1.3%), whereas last year the share of imports from Germany was nearly 5%, and from Turkey—3.7%.
According to the State Customs Service, Ukraine exported transformers, inductors, and chokes worth nearly $16 million in January–May (compared to $10.9 million last year), primarily to Germany, Poland, and Hungary.
As reported with reference to the State Customs Service, in 2025, Ukraine’s imports of transformers, inductors, and chokes increased by 88% compared to 2024, reaching $1.12 billion. Imports from China alone were 2.3 times higher, totaling $957.3 million.
According to Serbian Economist, Serbia has concluded negotiations with Hungary’s MOL regarding a shareholder agreement concerning NIS and will be able to acquire an additional 5% stake in the Serbian oil company, provided that MOL reaches an agreement with Gazprom Neft to buy out the Russian stake and the deal receives approval from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
This was announced by Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Jedović-Handanović.
Serbia currently owns 29.9% of NIS shares. Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Gazprom collectively control about 56.2% of the company. Hungary’s MOL is negotiating the purchase of this stake, but the deal requires approval from OFAC due to sanctions related to Russian participation in NIS.
According to Jedović-Handanović, the purchase of an additional 5% stake will strengthen Serbia’s position in approving and blocking decisions of strategic importance to the country’s economy. This is crucial for Belgrade, as NIS controls Serbia’s key oil infrastructure, including the country’s sole oil refinery in Pančevo.
As part of the agreements, MOL also committed to maintaining operations at the Pančevo refinery at least at the level of average annual capacity over the last four years prior to the imposition of U.S. sanctions.
For Serbia, the deal involving NIS is one of the key energy issues of 2026. Belgrade needs to simultaneously maintain the stability of fuel supplies, reduce sanctions risks, and retain its influence over a company that is of systemic importance to the country’s economy.
https://t.me/relocationrs/3011
Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy technologies, is urging the EU to urgently accelerate the development of energy efficiency and electrification in Europe as a unified, scalable, domestic, and sustainable response to the prolonged volatility of energy prices.
Global energy prices are expected to rise by 24% this year—the largest jump since 2022. Europe is particularly vulnerable to such changes, as energy costs here are typically two to four times higher than in other major regions of the world. Against this backdrop, Schneider Electric is calling on policymakers to stop viewing energy efficiency and electrification as an “add-on” to climate policy and to recognize them as Europe’s only scalable and domestic energy resources. Their accelerated implementation has the potential to generate at least €250 billion annually by 2040, reduce energy demand, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and boost competitiveness.
Europe remains structurally vulnerable: the EU still relies on imports for nearly 60% of its energy resources, which cost €336.7 billion in 2025. This makes households, industry, and public services vulnerable to instability in global fossil fuel markets and geopolitical upheavals. Schneider Electric emphasizes that measures to improve energy efficiency and electrify end-use consumption can be implemented quickly and with a short payback period, delivering immediate benefits while accelerating the transition to a stronger and more energy-independent system.
Schneider Electric calls on the European Commission and EU member states to focus on five key policy steps:
Calls for support and incentives to help businesses scale proven, fast-return energy efficiency solutions that reduce demand within months.
Industry: Targeted support, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, to scale up energy management systems and implement low- or no-cost measures that can deliver savings of up to 30% over time and lay the groundwork for digitalized production.
2) Rapidly and consistently implement existing EU legislation on energy efficiency and buildings
Fully implement the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) to ensure a rapid anti-crisis effect. Specifically:
• Rapidly deploy building automation and control systems (BACS) under the EPBD, which can deliver annual savings of 450 TWh in final energy consumption, reduce CO₂ emissions by 64 million tons, and lower energy bills by €36 billion.
• Strengthen energy audit requirements under the EED by making the implementation of their recommendations mandatory—starting with small and medium-sized businesses—using leasing mechanisms and the “energy-as-a-service” financing model.
3) Accelerate electrification through targeted incentives
Despite the growth in electricity production from renewable sources, a significant portion of energy consumption—that is, the demand side—has not yet switched to electricity. As long as people drive gasoline-powered cars and heat their homes with gas, Europe will remain dependent on imported energy sources and price fluctuations.
Faster electrification will enable more effective integration of renewable energy and reduce dependence on price fluctuations for fossil fuels. It also has the potential to break a decade-long period of stagnation in Europe, which currently stands at 21% (10% behind China), where rapid electrification is taking place. Schneider Electric calls for:
• A significant scaling up of heat pump adoption (which are 3–5 times more efficient than gas boilers) with the goal of reaching one million installations annually by 2030. This requires supportive mechanisms that lower initial barriers for consumers, including tools such as social leasing.
• Faster electrification of transportation through targeted measures, including incentives to accelerate the electrification of corporate fleets, which will also foster the development of the used electric vehicle market.
4) Use taxation and funding to shift demand from fossil fuels to clean electricity
Schneider Electric calls on policymakers to make electrification economically attractive by:
• Reducing electricity taxes (including lowering VAT and excise taxes where possible) to narrow the gap between retail prices for electricity and gas.
• Redirecting and simplifying access to public funding to scale up energy efficiency and electrification—specifically funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility and revenues from the Emissions Trading System (ETS).
• Keep any temporary mechanisms for capping or subsidizing gas prices to a minimum and short-term, as this discourages investment in clean energy resources.
5) Unleash self-generation, flexibility, and smart grids to lower bills
Remove barriers and create incentives for the development of flexibility, energy storage systems, and digitalization, which help reduce peak loads and system costs. Priorities include:
• Ensuring flexibility in buildings and industry through rooftop solar power plants (PV), energy storage systems, and digital control systems, as well as supporting demand response mechanisms.
• Faster and higher-quality deployment of “smart” meters with a focus on functionality, real-time data access, and system interoperability—primarily for large commercial buildings, industry, and EV charging infrastructure.
• More digitized power grids and smarter grid infrastructure planning, including support for grid efficiency technologies, results-oriented KPIs, and tariff models that incentivize peak load reduction and grid-friendly energy consumption.
Laurent Bataille, Executive Vice President of Operations for Europe at Schneider Electric, stated:
“The call for policymakers to prioritize energy efficiency and electrification is just as relevant today as it was four years ago. The solutions haven’t changed. However, during this time, Europe has weathered one energy crisis after another—without making the progress needed to protect itself from price shocks and sky-high costs that leave businesses, households, and industry so vulnerable.
“Complacency is Europe’s greatest energy risk. Plans to subsidize energy costs are merely a temporary solution that does not work in the long term. Europe needs structural changes—ones that will incentivize the adoption of clean technologies so that businesses and households permanently change their approach to energy consumption. We need policies that will foster the creation of an energy system built in Europe and for Europe—one that reduces dependence on volatility, ensures a clean and reliable energy supply, and allows Europe to remain competitive.”
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy technologies, driving efficiency and sustainability through the electrification, automation, and digitalization of industry, business, and residential spaces. The company’s technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and power grids to function as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing productivity, resilience, and sustainability.
The company’s portfolio includes smart devices, software-defined architectures, AI-based systems, digital services, and professional consulting services. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric consistently ranks among the world’s most sustainable companies. Learn more at https://www.se.com/ua/uk/
