Russia is again shipping more natural gas through Ukraine to Europe after recent cuts, state energy company Gazprom said today.

- Gazprom delivers Russian gas in transit through the territory of Ukraine in the volume confirmed by the Ukrainian side of the Suja gas compressor station: 29,4 million cubic meters on February 1, spokesman Sergey Kuprianov said in Moscow, DPA reported.

Gazprom yesterday pumped 24,2 million cubic meters – about 20 percent less – through Ukraine using the Suja facility located in the southern part of Russia's Kursk region.

The increase is likely due to the fact that the price of pipeline gas has again become more attractive to wholesalers. Spot prices for short-term gas supply contracts fell in January due to relatively warm weather. But with the beginning of February, pipeline gas contracts, which are usually traded a month in advance, also became cheaper.

Despite the increase, Russia still supplies significantly less gas to Europe than it did before the war in Ukraine began almost a year ago. Moscow suspended deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline in September due to alleged technical problems. Shortly thereafter, an underwater explosion completely disabled the pipelines.