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Ukraine and EU Open New Energy Lifelines With Two Gas Corridors Through the Balkans
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![Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk]( "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
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Ukraine and its European partners have launched two new cross-border routes for natural gas imports under the “Vertical Corridor” initiative, ExPro consulting firm reported on December 22.
Energy regulators from Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece approved joint capacity-booking products for Route 2 and Route 3, designed to diversify gas supplies to Ukraine. The first auctions, held on December 22, offered monthly capacity for January 2026 but resulted in no reservations, likely due to the short preparation window after regulatory approval.
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Route 2 is intended to bring LNG from Greece’s Alexandroupolis terminal to Ukraine via Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova, while Route 3 is designed for Azerbaijani gas entering through the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector linked to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline.
Each route offered a capacity of 4.89 million cubic meters of gas per day. Operators applied a 25% discount on standard monthly tariffs, with the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector and Ukraine’s gas transmission operator offering discounts of up to 46%, the highest in the region, according to ExPro.
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The auctions also included Route 1, an existing corridor from Greece’s Revithoussa LNG terminal that has been operating since July 2025 and has already delivered more than 60 million cubic meters of gas to Ukraine.
ExPro noted that while the lack of bookings shows market caution, the new routes remain an important part of Ukraine’s strategy to secure diversified gas imports ahead of future demand pressures.
Previously, it was reported that recent Russian attacks on the bridge along the Odesa–Reni highway could disrupt up to 60% of Ukraine’s fuel imports, according to Dmytro Levushkin, founder of the logistics company Prime.
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-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
