Russia has stopped all gas shipments to Europe via a major pipeline, citing the necessity for repairs.
Gazprom, a Russian state-owned energy behemoth, stated that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline limitations would continue for the next three days.
Russia has already considerably restricted pipeline gas shipments.
However, it dismisses allegations that it is utilizing energy supplies to punish Western nations for imposing sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Under the Baltic Sea, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline extends 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from the Russian coast near St. Petersburg to northeastern Germany.
It was inaugurated in 2011 and can transport up to 170 million cubic meters of gas per day from Russia to Germany.
The pipeline was shut down for ten days in July – again, according to Russia, for maintenance – and has recently been working at only 20% capacity due to what Russia characterizes as malfunctioning equipment.
If Russia restarts delivery within the next few days, the president of Germany’s network regulator says the country will be ready to cope.
Klaus Mueller stated to Reuters, “I believe we will be able to handle it.” I am confident that Russia will return to 20% on Saturday, but no one can say for certain.
European authorities are concerned that Russia may prolong the outage to push up gas prices, which have risen dramatically over the past year.
The high increase threatens to cause a crisis in the expense of living during the winter months, prompting governments to potentially spend billions to alleviate the load.
Tuesday, French Minister of Energy Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher accused Russia of using natural gas as a weapon of war.
Following Gazprom’s announcement that it will cease gas deliveries to Engie, she spoke.
However, a spokeswoman for Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the allegations, insisting that infrastructure damage caused by Western sanctions is to blame.
He reiterated that “technical challenges” resulting from sanctions are the only thing keeping Russia from providing gas through the pipeline, without elaborating.
The most recent dispute included a turbine that had been fixed in Canada, shipped to Germany, and then refused to be returned by Russia because it was subject to Western sanctions.
However, Germany denies this.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck stated earlier this month that the pipeline was completely functioning and that there were no technical concerns, as alleged by Russia.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Union Commission, stated earlier this week at a conference in Slovenia that energy markets are “no longer fit for purpose.”
She stated, “We need a new market model for power that is truly functional and restores equilibrium.”
Before the crisis, Germany had approved the €10 billion (£8.4 billion) Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which runs parallel to its namesake, but activities were suspended in February after Russia launched soldiers into Ukraine.
