Estonia is keeping operational a gas pipeline running through Võru County, allowing Russia to use it to supply its exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast, Eesti Ekspress reported Wednesday.
A 22-kilometer section of pipeline consisting of two pipes, each 70 centimeters in diameter, runs from Russia across Estonia's southeastern corner into Latvia and onward through Lithuania. The section is owned by Estonian electricity and gas transmission system operator Elering and Russia uses it under an existing agreement as a backup route to supply Kaliningrad Oblast if the pipeline running directly through Lithuania or the floating terminal in Kaliningrad is out of service, Eesti Ekspress reported. Russia needs gas to fuel power plants in Kaliningrad Oblast, which became an energy island after the Baltic states disconnected from the electricity grid shared with Russia.
In July 2023, half a terawatt-hour of Russian natural gas passed through Luhamaa, equivalent to approximately 15 percent of Estonia's annual consumption. Another half a terawatt-hour of Russian natural gas flowed through Estonia in fall 2024, the newspaper reported.
Eesti Ekspress pointed out that none of the Estonian politicians responsible for overseeing the sector in recent years were aware of the Russian gas pipeline arrangement. After gathering information on the matter, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said he wanted to initiate the decommissioning of the pipeline and would instruct Minister of Energy and the Environment Erkki Keldo to reach an agreement with Latvia, where the pipeline's shutoff valve is located, to ensure the connection is no longer opened for transit. If no agreement is reached, Michal said Estonia could impose national sanctions to prohibit the transit.
In his comments to Eesti Ekspress, Keldo warned that Russia could seek to exploit the pipeline's closure in its information warfare against the Baltic states. He also noted that an agreement with Latvia could be reached once a new government takes office there.
No gas is currently flowing to Kaliningrad through the pipeline, but Russia can still reserve transmission capacity. Estonia banned imports of Russian gas in fall 2022 in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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