On January 7 local time, Hungary's Foreign Minister Szijjártó stated that a reduction in supply would lead to price increases. Since Ukraine decided to "cut off gas" in mid-December 2024, the price of Henry Hub Natural Gas in the European market has risen by 20%, which has severely eroded the competitiveness of the EU. On December 20, 2024, Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal stated during a speech in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) that Ukraine plans to stop transiting Russian gas to Europe through its gas transportation system starting at 7 a.m. on January 1, 2025. On January 1, the Russian energy giant Gazprom announced that due to the expiration of the Ukraine-Russia gas transit agreement, gas supply was interrupted at 8 a.m. Moscow time on the 1st. On the same day, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy posted on Social Media "Telegram" stating that, for National Security reasons, it had stopped the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine. (CCTV News)