As of Saturday, “Russian state-owned gas supplier Gazprom has not delivered gas to Germany through the Yamal pipeline in Poland. And since Sunday, Putin’s giant has been transporting only half the amount of gas through Ukraine to Austria and southern Germany.
The situation is becoming increasingly critical for German and other European consumers, and the lack of supplies only raises prices.
A spokesman for the “Check24” portal said: “98 basic gas suppliers have already increased their prices or announced other increases. Individual suppliers double their prices. On average, price increases are 17.3% and affect approximately 560,000 households.
Putin is kneeling Europe
Gas supplies from Russia stopped in Serbia, leading to a failure of the gas plant in the large city of Novi Sad (300,000 inhabitants). In the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, power plants were partially shut down due to morning shutdowns and therefore the water was only lukewarm and almost non-existent heating.
The cause of the disturbance was a mysterious explosion in Bulgaria, which took place on an older section of Gazprom’s “Balkan Stream” pipeline system. On Tuesday, specialists tried to repair the damaged tubes.
Gazprom reduced its gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine overnight to just 52% of the agreed amount
The consequences of the action could reduce the pressure on the network, making the entire pipeline system in Ukraine unusable. Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Andrij Yermak has warned of the collapse of the Ukrainian gas network in Europe, as the pressure on the pipelines is now simply too low.
“Ukraine’s transit capacity is full of only 19 percent. If the reduction of flows continues, the EU will forever lose the reliable Ukrainian route, “said Mr Yermak.
One expert says the move could be the result of criticism of Russia over its climate change policies and its failure to attend the COP meeting26.
Professor Alan Riley, a gas expert, said: “This is Moscow’s reaction to the Green Deal. The message is: you will not be able to make the energy transition without Russia’s consent and only under Russian conditions. “
Putin’s hidden agenda
The expert also claims that Russia has a hidden agenda in terms of exports, supporting reports that Putin is politicizing the issue. “Because we know that Gazprom has some free production capacity, record low gas exports can only be explained by a hidden agenda of Russia,” said Professor Riley.
The gas price crisis is fast becoming a major challenge for the European Union. As winter approaches, managing the situation is seen as a “litmus test” for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Russia has in the past denied manipulation of supplies, saying it has always honored contractual agreements and quotas, Express reports.
