Ronald Reagan’s wish came true this week. The last gas pipeline to Europe from Russia shut down. The 40th president’s political heir, Donald Trump, stands to reap the benefit.

A Ukrainian pipeline supplying Russian natural gas to Europe was closed Wednesday after Ukraine declined to renew the deal keeping it open.

The Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline was built in the Soviet era to carry Siberian gas to European markets. It became the main conduit to Ukraine’s border with Slovakia from Siberia, passing through the town of Sudzha — which is now under the control of Ukrainian military forces — in Russia’s Kursk region.

Russia’s once-dominant gas supply to Europe via Ukraine, which flowed for decades, is set to end on New Year’s Day with the collapse of a contract between the two warring countries that paid out billions to Moscow in gas revenue and to Kyiv in transit fees.

Ukraine, which had allowed Russian oil and gas to cross its territory to serve Europe while fighting Moscow’s invasion since 2022, refused to renew the deal.

Vladimir Putin might have lost a slice of revenue after Kyiv closed its gas pipeline to Russian supplies, but Moscow already has alternatives for shipping the fuel that stand to shield it from any serious economic hit.

As the last of the gas flowing via Ukraine to Europe runs out, Russian gas will no longer be making its way to Europe, marking the end of a decades-long arrangement. Russia had already cut off most supplies through the Baltic and Belarus-Poland pipelines after the Ukraine/Russia war started,