Putin's Leverage Diminishes as Ukraine Halts Russian Gas Flows to Europe

Russian natural gas supplies to Europe via a pipeline traversing Ukraine are set to end on January 1 with the expiration of a contract signed before Russia launched its full-scale invasion. The pipeline, Russia's oldest gas export route to Europe, was set to shut down at the end of 2024 with the expiration of the contract. Data from Ukraine's gas transit operator on December 31 showed that Russia had not requested any gas flows for January 1. The operator said Russia had begun reducing gas flows through the pipeline hours ahead of the expiration…