President Zelensky said his country would not allow Russia to "earn additional billions on our blood".

Russia begins scaling-down gas supply to Europe via Ukraine as a five-year pre-war deal expires on New Year’s Day. #EuropeNews

Russian natural gas flows to Europe across Ukraine appear poised to halt Wednesday, after a transit deal expires, raising the stakes for the continent’s energy security as it draws heavily on reserves.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine are set to end on New Year's Day, bringing down the curtain on Moscow's long period of dominance of supply in the European gas market. Russia's oldest gas export route to Europe - a pipeline dating back to Soviet days - was set to shut at the end of 2024,

Ukraine's decision to turn off the taps keeping Russian gas flowing via its territory to Europe has already sown trouble in the continent's east, with Moldova declaring a state of emergency and Slovakia threatening Kyiv with retaliation.

Russian gas flows through Ukraine are set to stop on Wednesday when a transit deal between the two countries expires in the wake of Moscow’s full-scale invasion. The pipeline was one of the last two routes still carrying Russian gas to Europe nearly three years into the full-scale war.

Ukraine's gas transit operator said Russia had not nominated any gas flows for Jan. 1 through the Ukrainian pipeline to Europe as of 1500 GMT on Tuesday, hours ahead of the expiration of a five-year contract between Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz.

MOSCOW >> Russian energy company Gazprom said it would pump a reduced volume of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday, the last day before the expiry of a deal that had kept the gas flowing throughout nearly three years of war.

Russia pumped gas on Monday to European customers via Ukraine for one of the last days before a key transit deal expires at the end of the year, marking the almost complete loss of Russia's once mighty hold over the European gas market.