MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. Gas reserves in European underground gas storage (UGS) facilities have fallen below 68 bln cubic meters, while withdrawal from them is 29% lower than the multi-year average. Requests for transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory equal 41.3 mln cubic meters.

Gas withdrawal from EU countries’ UGS facilities amounted to 284 mln cubic meters on February 25, the lowest level for this day in 10 years, according to data provided by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). Meanwhile, the pumping into them amounted to 47 mln cubic meters.

The heating season started in Europe on November 14. Since then, EU countries have withdrawn 41.12 bln cubic meters of gas from UGS facilities. Currently European UGS facilities are 62.45% full (21.59 percentage points higher than the average as of this date in the past five years), with 67.8 bln cubic meters of gas stored in them.

Requests for transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine for February 27 stand at 41.3 mln cubic meters via the Sudzha gas distribution station, according to data released on the website of the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU). Consequently, supplies of Russian gas have returned to last year’s figures.

The transit line through Ukraine remains the only route to supply Russian gas to western and central European countries after Nord Stream was damaged.