Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the pipeline, which was set to deliver gas directly from Russia to Germany, will now be reconsidered
Germany has suspended plans to open the Nord Stream 2 pipeline carrying gas from Moscow to Berlin, as part of a package of sanctions imposed on Russia after it announced an invasion of Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this morning that Nord Stream 2 will “not be certified”, adding that he has instructed a new assessment of how Germany’s energy supplies can be secured.
The German premier explained that the “situation has fundamentally changed”, after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent tanks into bordering Ukraine this morning.
The 1,200km pipeline under the Baltic Sea, which was set to take gas from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to Lubmin in Germany, was completed last September.
Germany’s decision to put the pipeline on ice will have major ramifications for Europe’s future gas supply, but will spell relief for western counties including the UK and US which have always opposed the plans.
The €10bn (£8.4bn) project was drawn up as a way of solving gas shortages and soaring energy costs across Europe.
The major pipeline was intended to carry enough natural gas from Russia to fuel 26m households in Europe. Together with the existing Nord Stream pipeline, which runs parallel to Nord Stream 2, the twin channels were set to deliver more than a quarter of all the gas used each year by European Union countries.
Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom shouldered half of the cost of Nord Stream 2, with western energy firms such as Shell and ENGIE of France paying the rest.
But whilst former German Chancellor Angela Merkel helped spearhead the project, Mr Scholz, her successor, has insisted that the plug would be pulled if Russia invaded Ukraine.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has previously called Nord Stream 2 “a dangerous political weapon”.
Meanwhile the US and UK, along with Russia’s neighbours Poland and Ukraine, also strongly oppose the pipeline.
This story is being updated
Putler shoots himself in the foot again. What a fucking genius!
Like Putin really gives a shit!!!!
Yep. He signed a gas deal with China before he invaded.
He might have done, but now Putin is China’s lapdog. If the Chinks say we will give you so much for your gas, take it or leave it, Putler has no other options. China will fuck Russia, just as Russia fuck Ukraine.
Zelensky also keeps fucking Ukraine. He does not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. For something that’s already lost he is willing to throw entire Ukraine under the bus. When Putler signed that LDPR recognition tp he mentioned ‘Ukraine historically belongs to Russia’. How loud is the siren supposed to blow into Zelensky’s ears to make him understand. Did he not promise a compromise with RuSSia before his election? Where is it? If we only had Poroshenko or Tymoshenko. I remember an article in the Atlantic Council that Zelensky will be a mess for Ukraine. I think they were right.
I found the article, not 100% accurate, but close.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/why-a-zelenskiy-presidency-would-be-a-disaster-for-ukraine/
Zelensky surrounded himself with Russian lovers and fucking actors. That’s no way to run a country, plus opening your big mouth about wanting nukes and demanded to be allowed into NATO hasn’t helped. The worrying thing, is he doing this on purpose, or is it just naivety?
Germany helping putler again. Now the bastard knows he needs to take Ukraine to secure the supply.
The only thing that would help now is for Germany to cancel its contract with putler.
Putler can just turn off the taps in Russia, nothing the EU can do about it. He’s done that before to Ukraine.
Mickey what would you like Zelensky to do? Hold his breath, turn blue while he jumps up and down? He’s in a weak position requiring allot of help from third parties. The fault of not preparing Ukraine for this shit belongs to all of the previous Ukrainian presidents as they did nothing. IMHO
The last Ukrainian President did a lot for Ukraine. He rebuilt the army from scratch, was fighting corruption and rebuilt the Ukrainian economy. The people who let Ukraine down are the EU and the last 3 POTUS.
He needs to consider the option to let go Donbas and Crimea if he has reason to believe Putin wants the entire Ukraine. That would be painful, but if free Ukraine will survive he must do it. I would not know what else he can do since he has no military support from Nato. As you said, and i agree, nobody ever even considered the possibility such a massive invasion could take place. Why i don’t know.
It’s hard to let go of something you don’t have. Now the scum are trying to claim borders the terrorists had in 2014 before Ukraine pushed them all the way back to within 20km of Russia. Putler will fabricate another BS provocation and try to take all of Donbas, do Ukraine let him do that too?
Everything is possible, but it’s worth a try. All alternatives would mean a total escalation one way or the other. Not to try may be the excuse to bring downe the ‘anti-ruSSian junta’, claiming if RuSSia has nobody to talk to they will take further steps aka full invasion. And the latter was said to be Putler’s goal according to the Pentagon. It’s an attempt to halt the invasion. I would try it. Because then Putler has no more arguments to continue. Unless he claims he now also wants to protect ukrainian speakers in Kyiv.
Plenty of Russian speakers in Kyiv too, that don’t want or need his protection.
Mickey what on earth would make you think Putin stop there. He only stops if the billy get a bloody nose. That blood comes now or later but it will and mist come
He got a bloody nose in the Donbas years ago. But that what’s rolling on now is not RuSSia’s 3rd army, it is the 1st army, namely almost 200.000 men and hardware. Even the greatest patriot can see that Ukraine will not be able to defeat them. I know what’s at stake. And as a freelance journalist i cannot make people believe otherwise, i would mislead people and embarrass myself in the long run. I still hope a peaceful solution will be found, therefore all options must be allowed to be considered if the situation requires it.
He didn’t get a bloody nose! He got a slap on the wrist and the rest of the world said don’t do that anymore. Then we had the scumbags from Germany and France get us into the Minsk agreement. And where was the fuckin US…missing in action!!!
I agree. Obama and Biden as presidents of a state which signed the Budapest memorandum bear full responsibility for Ukraine’s situation.