Sunday’s meeting in Athens between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy produced the first set of agreements linked to the ongoing reshaping of regional energy flows. These deals align with the US strategy to phase out Russian natural gas from southeastern Europe and underscore the growing commercial activity related to Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Greece has become the first EU member state to fully align itself with the US objective of replacing all Russian-origin gas with American LNG. A central component of this effort is the agreement allowing Ukraine to import US LNG for its upcoming winter needs.
The most immediate outcome of the talks is the supply contract between DEPA and Ukraine’s Naftogaz. Covering the period from December 2025 to March 2026, it requires rapid mobilization, as cargoes from US producer Venture Global must be dispatched without delay. To accommodate these shipments, DEPA is expected to secure significantly higher capacity in the 24 November auction for Route 1 of the Vertical Gas Corridor. This route starts at the Revythoussa LNG terminal near Athens, and monthly capacity bookings will be increased to match the contract’s undisclosed volumes. The additional demand is expected to sharply boost the utilization of a corridor that has so far been only modestly used, potentially reshaping competition in future capacity auctions.
On the export side, shipments of US LNG to Ukraine will be coordinated by Atlantic SEE, a joint venture between Aktor and DEPA (60–40 percent). Earlier this year, the venture signed a 20-year supply agreement with Venture Global for annual LNG deliveries ranging from 700 million to 4 billion cubic meters beginning in 2030.
Venture Global has also secured 25 percent of the capacity at the Alexandroupoli FSRU in northeastern Greece. From this terminal, a second delivery route toward Ukraine—Route 2—is expected to be activated, further reinforcing the emerging US–Greece–Ukraine energy axis.
