Ukraine has launched two new gas import routes

Ukraine, together with neighboring countries, has launched two new interstate routes for natural gas imports – Route 2 and Route 3 as part of the "Vertical Corridor" initiative. Regulators from Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece have approved the relevant joint capacity booking products, transmits ExPro consulting company.

The first auctions for the new routes took place on Monday, December 22, 2025. The auctions offered monthly capacities for gas imports from Greece to Ukraine for January 2026.

Following the auction, none of the companies booked these capacities for natural gas supply. The likely reason was the limited preparation time, as the relevant products were approved only a few days before the auctions.

All operators agreed to a 25% discount on the standard monthly tariff, while ICGB and the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine offered a 46% discount – the highest in the region.

The offer will apply exclusively to monthly products and will be implemented through a single fixed-price auction. As with Route 1, nominations will only be possible for exit to Ukraine, without access to internal points of other countries along the route.

Route 2 is designed to supply LNG from the Alexandroupolis terminal to Ukraine. The route starts at Amphitriti, near the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal, which is operated by DESFA in Greece, then passes through the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector, the territory of Romania and Moldova, and ends in Ukraine.

Route 3 is designed to import Azerbaijani gas to Ukraine. The route starts at the connection point of the IGB (Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector) with the TAP (Trans-Adriatic Pipeline), after which it follows the same corridor as Route 2, through the Balkans to Ukraine.

In addition, on December 22, an auction was held to book capacity for the joint product Route 1 – from the Greek LNG terminal Revythoussa to Ukraine, which has been operating since July 2025.

4.89 million cubic meters of capacity per day were offered for booking. At the same time, none of the companies booked these volumes for import in January.

• Ukrainian traders have booked 1.2 million cubic meters per day of capacity for supply of natural gas from Greece in December – this is the highest figure since the launch of the Trans-Balkan route.