In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Italy disclosed that it will put its share of financing on hold for the Arctic LNG 2 project led by privately-owned Russian gas producer Novatek, Reuters reported quoting two sources close to the matter.

The project is worth $21 billion and was going to be financed by the Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) as well as the Russian arm of Italy’s biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI).

The Arctic LNG 2 was expected to be launched in 2023 before the invasion and to reach full capacity of almost 20 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year by 2026.

The shareholders of Arctic LNG 2 are Novatek (60%), TotalEnergies (10%), China’s CNPC (10%) and CNOOC (10%), in addition to Japan Arctic LNG (10%), which is a consortium of Mitsui & Co, Ltd. (8031.T) and JOGMEC.