Op-Ed: Russia Moves to Weaken EU Economy by Stopping all Gas Shipments

In the height of winter, Russia has ceased all gas shipments to Europe through the Ukrainian pipelines. Some countries have been forced to close schools and factories to try to preserve enough gas to heat homes and keep people from freezing to death.

In a calculated move to extort higher gas prices from the Ukraine, Russia’s Gazprom, at the Direction of Vladimir Putin, has ceased all gas shipments to Europe through Ukrainian pipelines. The move comes during the coldest part of the European winter and leaves citizens in many countries without heat. Some countries began cutting gas supplies to larger corporate users in order to save the gas supply for home heating purposes. Putin and Russia claim that the pricing dispute is the fault of the Ukraine, and that the Ukraine has been siphoning gas from the EU supply since Russia ceased supplying Ukraine with gas some days ago. However, the negotiation has gone something like this: Russia: Ukraine must pay $250 per 1000 cubic meters of gas. Ukraine: We can afford $201 per 1000 cubic meters. Russia: In that case, we are cutting off your supply of gas and you must pay $418 per 1000 cubic meters Ukraine: We are already in arrears at our current rate, we can’t pay that much, but perhaps we can go as high as $236 per 1000 cubic meters. Russia: Our price stands at $450 per 1000 cubic meters, and furthermore we are cutting all gas deliveries through Ukraine to Europe since Ukraine gets paid transit fees for the use of the pipelines and we accuse Ukraine of stealing Europe’s gas for its own use. Ukraine: Because you cut our gas supplies, some gas had to be used to maintain pressure in the pipelines or damage would result, we have stolen nothing. Meanwhile, Europe, like the US is facing a recession. Cutting gas supplies will force some EU countries to shut off supplies to their largest corporate customers, shutting down factories, and putting people out of work, at least temporarily. Is Russia’s goal to further weaken the EU’s economy? Certainly Russia is very unhappy with the Ukraine’s move to join NATO and would like to reassert its political dominion over the Ukraine. We might also mention that the Ukraine offered very public support for Georgia when Russia invaded in 2008. Demonstrating complete idiocy, the President of the European Commission has stated publicly that if Ukraine does not resume shipments of gas to Europe, then it cannot be seen as a reliable partner for Europe and Ukrainian ties to EU would suffer. That, of course, is the goal for Russia in cutting gas supplies to the Ukrainian pipeline. Russia wants to isolate Ukraine from the west and demonstrate, as it did in Georgia, that any erstwhile Soviet block nations that rely on the United States or Europe for support will face the wrath of Mother Russia and the west will sit idly by to watch it happen. So far, it’s working. Somebody in Washington needs to get off their #@$% and get to work over there. The cold war has resumed and Russia is actively working to reduce US influence in Europe and around the world. With Europe and the US headed squarely at a prolonged recession and Russia doing all it can to make it worse for us, the window of opportunity to defend this country from its real enemies is growing short.