Ukraine turns off the gas tap

"Was there really no other option than throttling the transit? The leadership in Kyiv risks economic damage to its most important allies in Europe.

 

How theoretical some of the political discussions are can now be seen because, for the first time since the beginning of the sanctions, there are major shortfalls in Russian gas supplies to Europe. It's not the Europeans who are turning off the gas taps, although so many wanted it here, and it's not Putin, who not exactly a few believed capable of doing. No, it's the Ukrainians who are throttling the transmission to the West. They haven't come up in this discussion at all.

 

The backgrounds can hardly be checked from a distance. It is quite possible that the Russians divert gas for the breakaway areas in Donbass and disrupt operations, as the Ukrainian side says.

Trust was lost

One wonders, however, if there wasn't another way for the Kyiv leadership to deal with these problems. It risks damaging the economies of its key allies in Europe, even if supplies in Germany and elsewhere appear not to have been threatened for the time being.

Years ago, the EU became a victim of Ukrainian-Russian gas wars. That also cost Ukraine the trust of the West (one consequence was the construction of Nord Stream 2), which should not be forgotten in Kyiv. The fact that Russia can once again refer to its loyalty to the treaty is a propaganda gift for Putin.

 The fact that negotiations in Brussels on the planned oil embargo were faltering was another bad omen on Wednesday. In this matter, one should not break the stab at Hungary, after all, Germany is also trying to adapt the pace of sanctions to its economic needs.

Apparently Orbán is hoping on financial compensation. It would not be the first time in this war that the EU has paid a price for its geopolitical goals."

Huge price.