Russia has shut the taps on Europe’s main gas pipeline for ten days, fearing they might not be turned on again.
Vladimir Putin has skyrocketed gas prices across the continent since launching his brutal invasion, limiting supplies to 60 percent capacity amid warnings of power outages and hot water rations.
Now Nord Stream 1 will be completely shut down for ten days for ‘scheduled maintenance’, fearing that Gazprom would seize the opportunity to simply shut down the valves, wreaking havoc across the continent.
“Putin is going to turn off the gas … but will he one day turn it back on?” asked the German mass market daily Bild on its website on Sunday.
Since Russia cut capacity last month, European benchmark TTF gas prices have doubled from already high levels to £144 per megawatt hour.
A police boat sails past the receiving station for the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline today while it is closed for maintenance
Today prices have remained relatively stable despite the taps being turned off, rising just 0.5 percent for the main contract for delivery next month.
But Klaus Mueller, the head of Germany’s federal gas network regulator, told public broadcaster ZDF on Monday: “There are a number of scenarios where we could end up in an emergency.”
“We are facing an unprecedented situation – anything is possible,” German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck told public radio this weekend.
‘It is possible that the gas will start flowing again, even at a higher volume level than before.’
But, he warned, “nothing may get through, and we still need to prepare for the worst” as Europe rushes to move out of Russia for energy supplies.
Freight wagons are displayed in Kaliningrad after a ban on the transit of some goods to the Russian exclave on the Baltic coast
The recent cut to 60 percent was blamed on Russia’s lack of a turbine, but Germany denounced it as a “political” decision.
Those cuts had a knock-on effect on supplies to a number of EU countries, while Poland and Bulgaria have also halted theirs altogether.
In response to Russia’s arming of gas supplies, Europe has imposed a blockade on Russian goods, which Lithuania has extended today for the Kaliningrad exclave.
Other goods excluded this morning include concrete, wood, alcohol and alcohol-based industrial chemicals, a spokesman for Lithuanian customs said.
Russia warned Lithuania and the European Union Friday that it could take “harsh measures” against them if transit of some goods to and from Kaliningrad does not resume “within the next few days.”
The regional governor of Kaliningrad has today proposed a total ban on overland freight transport between Russia and the three Baltic EU Member States Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, a move that could divert Russian cargo from their ports to those in Kaliningrad.
“This will provide activities for (our) sea carriers and give jobs to the ports of Kaliningrad, which have been hit hard by EU restrictions,” Governor Anton Alikhanov said on Telegram.
Vladimir Putin has threatened Lithuania after NATO country blocked EU-sanctioned goods from reaching Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave
Today Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally, discussed a possible response to Lithuania (pictured today)
Poland and Bulgaria have also seen their countries shut down altogether.
Today, Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally, discussed a possible response to Lithuania’s actions during a telephone conversation.
The presidents discussed “certain possible joint steps … related to the illegal restrictions imposed by Lithuania on the transit of goods into the Kaliningrad region,” the Kremlin said in a brief statement on Telegram.
Lithuania has no border with mainland Russia, but is a neighbor of Belarus.
The dispute over Kaliningrad’s isolation is a test of Europe’s determination to enforce the sanctions, fearing an escalating confrontation with Russia after other restrictions pushed Moscow into defaulting on its debts.
EU officials, with Germany’s support, sought a quick compromise in late June to resolve the deadlock.
However, sources told Reuters that Lithuania, once ruled from Moscow within the old Soviet Union, had serious reservations about making what could be seen as a concession to the Kremlin.
Kaliningrad borders NATO and EU member states Lithuania and Poland and relies on railways and roads through Lithuania for most goods.
The coastal area has been cut off from some cargo traffic from mainland Russia under the EU sanctions regime since June 17.
Goods that fall under humanitarian or essential categories, such as food, are exempt from the sanctions. Passenger traffic is not prohibited and Kaliningrad is still accessible by air or sea.