A logo of Russian energy giant Gazprom (AFP)

Russian energy giant Gazprom reported that the volume of Russian gas shipments to Europe via Ukraine through the Sudzha entry point climbed 9.5% to 39.2 million cubic meters on Saturday in comparison to the previous day.

"Gazprom is supplying Russian gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine in the amount confirmed by the Ukrainian side through the Sudzha entry point — 39.2 million cubic meters, as of February 18," the company said.

Meanwhile, the gas transit request via the Sokhranivka entry point was denied, it added.

This comes as Gazprom celebrates its 30th anniversary during which CEO Alexey Miller confirmed that the company is getting ready to kick off the projects of the Powers of Siberia-2 and Soyuz Vostok gas pipelines that run through Mongolia to China.

As the Nord Stream pipelines were sabotaged late last September, the transit route through Ukraine is the sole remaining conduit for Russian gas flows to central and western Europe.

The explosions occurred on September 26 at three of the four strings of Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater pipelines, which are designed to transport a total of 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe each year.

In a recent development, the Pulitzer winner American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said last week that US Navy divers had planted explosives to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines in late 2022.

"Last June, the Navy divers, operating under the cover of a widely publicized mid-summer NATO exercise known as BALTOPS 22, planted the remotely triggered explosives that, three months later, destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, according to a source with direct knowledge of the operational planning," Hersh wrote in his Substack newsletter.

The White House responded and dismissed the claims as "false and complete fiction."

Hersh later confirmed to the Russian news agency Sputnik that he authored the investigative report in question.