Germany signals massive drop in Russian gas as European “sanctions” regime begins to unravel

Germany has publicly acknowledged that there has been a huge drop in supplies of Russian natural gas after Ukraine closed down a pipeline network that supplied some 25 percent to European customers.

As reported by Russia Today, the German energy regulator said earlier this week that gas intake at the Waidhaus border control point fell by 25 percent from the previous day as Kyiv moved to suspend around one-third of Russian-supplied gas to the continent.

The regulator’s remarks were first noted by an earlier statement from Germany’s economic ministry, which also said that flow of Russian-supplied gas had declined substantially. That said, German gas supplies were more than adequate as the country also receives supplies from Norway and the Netherlands.

RT.com adds:

The Ukrainian gas transmission system operator said on Tuesday, it had decided to suspend operations at the major transit point due to “interference by the occupying forces.” The border point accounts for a third of Russian exports to Europe via Ukraine. Russia’s energy major Gazprom said it saw no reason for the disruption.

The move marked the biggest interruption to date. Despite the ongoing conflict, Russian gas supplies have continued to Europe, which is still heavily reliant on the country’s energy.

Initially, under pressure from the United States, several European countries sanctioned Moscow after Russian troops poured across Ukraine’s borders in the latter part of February. But in recent weeks, the sanctions regime has begun to unravel as Russia-dependent European nations come to the realization that the U.S. isn’t going to step up and replace Russian supplies because the Biden regime is beholden to the hard Democrat left and refuses to bolster the output of fossil fuels including natural gas that burns cleaner than Russian gas.

According to private intelligence firm Forward Observer, in its Friday “Early Warning” report:

Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi said European gas importers already opened accounts in rubles with Gazprom. European Union sanctions on Russia are undermined as the economic reality of Russian energy supplies takes hold. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “This would be a breach of the sanctions so a high risk for the companies.”

“The Europeans are likely to abandon sanctions enforcement later this year as next winter’s gas storage remains low. Russia continues to exploit the divided European continent to fund its war and keep the West at a safe distance by ensuring the right deals are made behind the scenes,” said an analyst comment accompanying the assessment.

“The issue of Russian gas isn’t going away from the Europeans as they invest in green initiatives while trying to keep the lights on,” the analysis continued.

Meanwhile, Russia is doing all it can to ensure more reliance on the gas it produces. In what many saw as a ‘warning shot’ of sorts, 21 liquified natural gas producers in the U.S. and throughout the West were hacked by Russian sources shortly before Vladimir Putin ordered his forces into Ukraine.

Natural News reported:

Among them was Chevron Corp., Cheniere Energy Inc., and Kinder Morgan Inc., according to reports.

The attacks targeted companies linked to producing liquefied natural gas, or LNG, as part of a larger effort to infiltrate critical sectors of the energy sector, claims Gene Yoo, CEO of Los Angeles-based Resecurity Inc., which discovered the hack.

Yoo went on to note how files show that “in a two-week blitz in February, the attackers gained access to more than 100 computers belonging to current and former employees of 21 major energy companies.”

“In some cases, the hackers compromised the target machines themselves, and in others they bought access to specific computers that were already infected by others, offering as much as $15,000 for each one,” he noted further.

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

RT.com