Russia's gas monopolist, Gazprom, recently stopped supplying natural gas to Austria via Ukraine – a route that had been in operation for decades. Why Moscow cut off one of its key European customers and what this means for gas transit through Ukraine,

Moscow's suspension of gas for Austria, the main receiver of gas via Ukraine, means Russia will now only supply significant gas volumes to Hungary and Slovakia, in Hungary's case via a pipeline running mostly through Turkey. In contrast, Russia met 40% of the European Union's gas needs before Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Russian gas exports through Ukraine to Europe - the main transit route for the gas to the EU - were stable on Monday, according to Kremlin-controlled energy company Gazprom , despite the company cutting off gas supplies to Austria's OMV .