MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/. The fighting that broke out near Sudzha in the Kursk region has already had an effect on the prices of natural and liquefied gas, which, coupled with repairs at gas facilities in Norway, have risen sharply, said Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov.

"The goings-on near Sudzha have led to a sharp rise in prices for both natural gas and LNG. August 9 marked the annual peak of exchange prices. And it's only summer. The question is: who benefits from this?" he noted.

According to Kupriyanov, planned preventive maintenance work at facilities in the Norwegian gas industry could also be a significant factor.

"According to analysts, it is possible that these works could drag on, as happened last year. Analysts also believe that the upward trend in gas prices will continue," he said.

On Thursday, gas prices in Europe rose by almost 5% exceeding $454 per 1,000 cubic meters, setting a new high for the year.

Today, as of 4:31 p.m. Moscow time (1:31 p.m. GMT) gas prices stood at $454 per 1,000 cubic meters and rose to $456 during the day.

On August 6, Ukrainian armed forces launched a massive attack on Russia’s Kursk region, where the Sudzha gas metering station (GMS) is located. The transit line through it remains the only route for Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine. Russian gas supplies have been going through Ukraine in reduced volumes since May 2022, when the Ukrainian GTS Operator announced the termination of transit to Europe through the Sokhranovka station due to force majeure: the company allegedly cannot control the Novopskov compressor station in the LPR. However, Gazprom saw no reason to change or stop the pumping schedule.

On Friday, Gazprom reported that it was supplying gas to Europe via Ukraine in the amount of 38.5 million cubic meters per day via the Sudzha gas metering station, the pumping volume increased by 3% compared to Thursday's level. Requests to pump via Sokhranovka were subsequently denied by the Ukrainian side. The pumping volume was 37.3 million cubic meters on Thursday, 39.4 million cubic meters on Wednesday, 42.4 million cubic meters on Tuesday and slightly more than 42 million cubic meters on average in August.