July to December 2021

Russia starts reducing gas pipeline supplies to Europe, and accumulates military personnel and equipment along Ukraine’s borders with Russia and Belarus.

February 2022

US President Joe Biden warns of impending Russian invasion of Ukraine, and withdraws embassy staff from Kyiv.

24 February 2022

Russia invades. Russian military convoys cross Ukrainian borders in the north, east and south of the country, and launch missiles at Ukrainian airports.

26 February 2022

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky refuses US offer to evacuate, saying: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”

February to March 2022

BP, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies announce plans to exit Russia. US, UK, Japan and European Union states impose wide sanctions against Russia, targeting banks, state corporations, individuals and Nord Stream 2, and freeze Russian assets

February to April 2022

Battle of Kyiv, ending with the withdrawal of Russian forces

March 2022

A gathering station at the Shebelinka gas field in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region suffers severe damage following a Russian missile attack, bringing into sharp focus the risks faced by thousands of front-line Ukrainian oil and gas workers trying to maintain domestic production.

April 2022

EU bans LNG equipment and high-tech supplies to Russia. Russian gas giant Gazprom demands European customers pay in rubles or lose gas supplies.

May 2022

International LNG and oilfield service contractors announce plans to exit Russia. Gazprom reduces gas transit flows via Ukraine to Europe below minimum contracted volumes. Germany approves plans for first LNG import terminal.

June 2022

Gazprom cuts gas supplies via Nord Stream 1 to Germany by 40%, citing turbines service issues. Russian President Vladimir Putin orders expropriation of the Sakhalin 2 LNG project’s oil and gas assets, with Shell unable to dispose its 27.5% stake.

July 2022

Gazprom further reduces gas supplies via Nord Stream 1 to Germany to 20% of nameplate capacity.

August 2022

Gas spot prices in Europe hit record high of €340 (equivalent of around $365 at current exchange rates) per megawatt hour, following Gazprom’s announcement that it will not resume supplies via Nord Stream 1.

September 2022

Ukraine liberates territory in north captured by Russia. Subsea sabotage takes Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 out of service.

October 2022

Putin expropriates the Sakhalin 1 project’s oil and gas assets, blocking operator ExxonMobil from disposing of its 30% shareholding.

November 2022

Ukraine liberates the Kherson region in the south, as Western military supplies help enable it to destroy Russian supply lines.

December 2022

Germany’s first LNG import terminal starts operations at Wilhelmshaven. European embargo on Russian crude imports and price cap come into force.

January 2023

Additional LNG terminals in Germany, the Netherlands and Finland come into operation. European spot gas prices fall to pre-war levels.

February 2023

EU embargo on imports of Russian oil products and price caps on its exports to third countries come into force. EU readies its 10th round of sanctions against Russia.

Power struggle: Energy markets stuck in turmoil a year after Ukraine invasion