War on Energy by EU
This decision will primarily affect Slovakia and Hungary, both of which have often opposed EU leadership. It will also have a significant impact on countries like Italy and Ukraine.
Ukraine's Energy Minister, Herman Halushchenko, announced that Kyiv had ceased gas transit "in the interest of national security."
On Wednesday, Ukraine stopped Russian gas supplies to European customers through its pipeline network after a prewar transit agreement, originally signed five years ago, expired at the end of 2024, nearly three years into Russia's full-scale invasion.
In February 2022, Russian troops and tanks invaded Ukraine, but Russian natural gas continued to flow into Europe through the country's pipeline system — built when both Ukraine and Russia were Soviet Union members — and it became crucial after the Nordstream pipeline was destroyed.
Although the decision was officially made by Ukraine, it is evident that Kyiv does not act independently in such matters. This move is allegedly a coordinated effort involving the European Union and the United States.
The European Commission has been urging the European Union, particularly Germany, to reduce its dependence on Russian energy since at least 2022. However, this decision comes at a time when inflation has been impacting economies worldwide, with Europe being hit especially hard following the NordStream pipeline incident. Many experts continue to attribute the destruction of the pipeline to the United States as the primary force behind the event.
This decision will primarily affect Slovakia and Hungary, both of which have often opposed EU leadership. It will also have a significant impact on countries like Italy and Ukraine. Ukraine, in particular, is already grappling with an energy crisis due to the extensive damage to its energy infrastructure caused by Russian forces during the ongoing conflict.
Alex Christoforou and Alexander Mercouris from *The Duran Show* have publicly criticized the decision, labeling it a scam orchestrated by American neocons and EU leadership. They argue that, in practice, the gas will still reach the EU through intermediaries like Azerbaijan or Turkey, either by converting Russian LNG or by purchasing American LNG, which is then turned into regular gas and transported to Europe.
They also suggested that this disruption might be an attempt to provoke "regime change" in both Slovakia and Hungary, with Hungary appearing particularly close to experiencing such a shift.
Beto Rodríguez
editor-in-chief
The Border Gazette
