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Russian Gas

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davebro | 08:43 Wed 11th May 2022 | News
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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-nuclear-war-putin-latest-weapons-b2076190.html

Zelensky urges the West to stop buying Russian gas. Why doesn't he order the destruction of the pipeline that carries the gas through Ukraine? I would.

( I do know there are other routes.)
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The link of course doesn’t relate to the west’s buying of gas but to Ukrainian concerns over Russian interference with gas transit via one of the entry points.

To answer the question, for a start it’s not as simple as a single pipeline.
And the transit pipes interconnect with domestic supply so it would be an own goal.
There’s also the issue of being seen to punish your allies. Zelensky avowedly sees it as his job to be an “irritating agent” in relation to cajoling his allies and friends but I think that would be a step too far
The problem for some countries (Germany for instance) is too much dependence on gas from Russia (in their rush to go 'net zero' and dumping Nuclear).

They cant just stop using it overnight. It will take some time so I think in the West we have to accept this, providing visible efforts are being made to move away from it.
EU is close to agreeing a total ban on Russian oil in six months, with opt-outs for Hungary and Slovakia.
On gas, Germans plans to wean itself off by 2024 and has apparently got a secret plan to cope if Russia turns it off unilaterally.

This morning's action by Ukraine's gas transit company tho is a reminder to Russia and the west about who controls the flow once it's in Ukraine.
Yesterday tho Russian forces attacked a gas pipeline in Luhansk (not all that far from the entry point in question as it happens) cutting the town on Severodonetsk off from gas completely. As you probably read from the link, Ukraine accuses Russia of diverting supplies from the entry station in question for use in the Luhansk so called people's republic. It's not clear to me how Ukraine is able to do that, as the border there has been in Russian control since around Feb 24, but they apparently have.

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