Boris Johnson led the charge on arming Ukraine — both before and during Moscow's military operation — and imposing sanctions and embargoes on Russian exports that prompted a Europe-wide inflationary crisis.
Former British PM Boris Johnson has revealed that European leaders hoped for a quick Russian victory in Ukraine.
In a TV interview on Tuesday night with a US channel, Johnson also conceded that there were "sound economic reasons" for Germany wanting Kiev to swiftly agree to a peace deal with Moscow, but that he "couldn't support" it.
It was Johnson — backed by Washington — who persuaded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to break off peace talks with Russia just a month into the conflict, when they were on the verge of a breakthrough, during a visit to Kiev in late March.
But a US military analyst has told Sputnik that Johnson "miscalculated" by encouraging the clash with Russia.
"The Germans, for all sorts of sound economic reasons, really didn’t want it," Johnson told the broadcaster. "I’ll tell you a terrible thing, the German view was at one stage that if it were going to happen, which would be a disaster, it would be better for the whole thing to be over quickly and for Ukraine to fold."
"I couldn’t support that, I thought that was a disastrous way of looking at it. But I can understand why they thought and felt as they did," the former PM added.
Johnson was also among the most strident voices for sanctions and embargoes on imports of Russian fuels, food and fertilizers, which prompted the inflationary crisis that is set to tip most of Europe into recession.
His government was also one of the biggest providers of military assistance to Ukraine before and after the launch of Russia's military operation on February 24, which Moscow says pre-empted a Ukrainian offensive on the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics it formally recognized days earlier.
Meanwhile, BoJo also accused French President Emmanuel Macron of being too optimistic of a diplomatic solution even as "we could see the Russian battalion tactical groups amassing."
"Be in no doubt that the French were in denial right up until the last moment," the politician claimed.
Western Miscalculation
Scott Bennett, a former US Army psychological warfare officer, told Sputnik that Johnson had always harbored delusions of being another Winston Churchill, Britain's Second World War leader.
"Churchill was a former military commander and diplomat, while Boris Johnson is a clown in search of a circus," he said.
Johnson had "miscalculated regarding Ukraine and Russia, and foolishly expected the Russian government to allow NATO and the US and Britain to launch an invasion into the Donbass region in a final extermination of the Russian-speaking people" who had rejected the "puppet" government in Kiev "installed by the United States" in 2014, Bennett said.
"Russia’s special military operation was a necessary defensive move against the growing NATO aggression and Ukrainian proxy army threat," the former officer said, "and this defense operation by Russia was fully justified and indeed absolutely necessary in order to preserve the lives of Russians."
Bennet said Johnson's reliance on accusations, threats and insults against Russian president Vladimir Putin led him to "miscalculate and commit errors in his political judgment, communication strategy and policy agenda."
The former PM's downfall came when Brits grew "increasingly dissatisfied" with the conflict in Ukraine and "Britain’s wasteful and foolish expenditures of money and resources" and he lost the confidence of his Conservative Party.
Bennett said the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia, which Moscow has blamed on "Anglo-Saxon" nations, was designed to force Germany to "abandon its agenda of removing itself from the conflict and abandoning the US economic sanction war against Russia."
He argued that the sabotage served Washington's agenda since "an enslaved Germany has always been the essential cornerstone of a US-dominated Europe," but stressed it was likewise a miscalculation.
"The German people are increasingly viewing the United States as a slavemaster rather than a friend and ally, and this will most likely lead to violent political and social unrest — if not revolution — in Germany over the next six months," Bennett said.
No Will for Peace
Dan Kovalik, adjunct professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of 'No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests,' told Sputnik that there was no country in the West willing to negotiate with Russia.
"The US, which does not want to negotiate with Russia, and is putting pressure on the EU not to do so as well," he said.
"I think the US wanted this war," Kovalik added. "That's why it did not address Russia's security concerns that could have been easily addressed."
The academic believes the West's aim is simply to "destroy Russia."
"They thought if they could suck Russia into Ukraine, they could then turn around and destroy Russia economically and or militarily, which has not happened," Kovalik said. "And so they want this war to continue and that's why they don't want to negotiate."
He stressed that Russia had always been willing to talk peace, but that the talks had been sabotaged by Kiev's allies.
"Russia and Ukraine probably had a deal, at least the outlines of a deal sometime in March or April," Kovalik pointed out, but "Boris Johnson went to scuttle the deal."
Returning to the raft of mutual security proposals that Russia presented to the US and other NATO members in December 2021 — only to have them rejected out of hand — Kovalik said their belligerent stance would continue "unless there is a change in governments in those countries."
"I don't think in terms of Germany and France that's their instinctual position," he said, but "the US is kind of running the show and pressuring those countries to take on Russia" — and that policy of trying to "undermine" Moscow would continue.
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that contrary to the expectations of "enemies", Russia has sufficient inventories of weapons to continue strikes.
"Enemies continue to carefully count our launches and our stockpiles. They should know better than to hope for a depletion of our resources," he said on Telegram on Wednesday. "To be continued. There’s enough for everyone!"
Medvedev said he had traveled to the state-owned company Region where he discussed "a ramping up of supplies of high-precision weapons to the Russian armed forces." The official also posted a video filmed inside the workshops that shows bombs and torpedoes.
The company, which was established in 1969, is one of Russia’s largest developers of torpedoes and bombs.
NATO’s military buildup around Belarus provokes arms race — foreign minister
Minsk is concerned about the unprecedented militarization of NATO’s member-states bordering on Belarus, because it is fanning tensions and provoking a further arms race, as follows from a news release the Belarusian Foreign Ministry issued after Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei’s participation in the joint meeting of the CSTO foreign and defense ministers and security councils’ secretaries and the session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Yerevan on Wednesday.
"In his speech, Makei underscored the deepening crisis of the existing world order, which has already affected all spheres of international relations. He pointed to the discrediting of the most important institutions of maintaining peace, security and stability, such as the UN and the OSCE, and the destruction of international instruments in the field of arms control and non-proliferation. He also expressed deep concern over the unprecedented scale of militarization of the NATO member-countries bordering on Belarus, which contributes to the growth of military-political tensions and provokes a further arms race," the statement reads.
Earlier, Minsk repeatedly pointed to the strengthening of NATO’s forces and national armies in Poland and the Baltic states. Minsk believes that the forces deployed near its borders can be used as strike groups against Belarus and Russia.
Beijing: NATO Must Stay Within Geographic Boundaries
NATO must stay within its geographic boundaries and not exceed the alliance's authority by imposing its own rules on other states as it has been trying to do since the end of the Cold War, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday.
On Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Beijing was seeking to strengthen its control over critical infrastructure, supply chains and key industrial sectors of Western countries. Stoltenberg added that allegedly authoritarian states must be prevented from using the West's weaknesses to carry out subversive activities.
"NATO has extended its collective defence clause to the domains of cyberspace and outer space, which should be handled by the UN and specialized international institutions. It has also stepped up intervention across a full range of civil domains including climate change, infrastructure, technological innovation, supply chains, health and energy. As a regional organization, NATO needs to stay within its geographical parameters and not attempt to impose rules that suit itself or seek to push or even cross the boundary," the Chinese diplomat told a press briefing.
He also dismissed Stoltenberg's allegations by saying that in recent years, Beijing had established positive and equal cooperation with countries and enterprises in various regions, including NATO member states. According to Zhao, such interaction has been beneficial to all sides.
Meanwhile, bringing ideological differences and value systems, and drawing dividing lines in economic cooperation will not only harm common interests of the international community, but will also be "backfire," he said.
Russia for arming CSTO peacekeepers with advanced weapons — Putin
Russia supports the decision to arm the CSTO peacekeeping forces with modern weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit on Wednesday.
"It can be stated with satisfaction that the very valuable practical experience gained during the peacekeeping operation in Kazakhstan was analyzed by us and the organization’s secretariat. Russia unconditionally supports the important decision, submitted for our approval, to equip the CSTO peacekeeping force with modern weapons, military equipment, and also special gear," Putin said.
Russia firmly supports the decisions to improve the CSTO communications system, create a joint radiation, chemical, biological protection and medical support unit, and the functioning of a unified technical support system the CSTO railways.
The Russian leader also mentioned the expansion of military-technical cooperation among the CSTO member states. The CSTO interstate military-economic commission participates in activities along this track. Putin said that the special services and law enforcement agencies were taking joint action in combating extremism and terrorism, transnational crime, illegal migration and drug trafficking, and in providing protection from natural and man-made emergencies.
"Of course, all of us are firmly united by the common work for preserving the memory of the common history of our states and of our peoples’ common victory in the Great Patriotic War," Putin stressed.
Brimob Polda Jawa Barat melakukan pencarian korban gempa Cianjur (Foto: Indonesia.jakartadaily.id/Humas Polda Jabar)
Hari ini Kepala Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana, Suharyanto mengumumkan adanya kenaikan jumlah korban yang ditemukan tewas akibat gempa Cianjur, Jawa Barat. Berdasar data temuan BNPB pada hari Rabu 23 November 2022, total jumlah korban meninggal dunia yang telah ditemukan adalah 271 orang.
"Ini kami sudah mengidentifikasi mencocokkan data dengan Kemenkes, khususnya Pusat Krisis Kesehatan di semua rumah sakit dan puskesmas yang sudah betul-betul ada jenazahnya," kata Suharyanto di Pendopo Cianjur,hari Rabu, 23/11/2022.
Selain itu, menurut dia masih ada 40 orang yang berstatus dalam pencarian. Dia mengatakan 39 orang di antaranya merupakan warga Kecamatan Cugenang dan satu orang warga Kecamatan Warungkondang.
"Jadi 271 ini yg sudah terkonfirmasi, kami mohon waktu besok pagi kami kumpulkan kepala desa mendata kembali, yang sudah dimakamkan ini apakah sudah dilaporkan," kata dia.
Dari kegiatan pencarian hari ini, menurutnya ada empat orang hilang yang ditemukan. Menurut dia tiga orang meninggal dunia dan satu orang selamat yakni bocah laki-laki bernama Azka berusia 6 tahun.
"Kegiatan hari ini, tadi pencarian dan evakuasi, sudah ada hasil, ini dilakukan terus-menerus meski hujan, tim tetap melakukan pencarian," kata dia.
Namun Suharyanto juga meminta agar masyarakat dari daerah lain untuk menghormati korban bencana alam yang kini tengah berada di pengungsian.
“Banyak juga masyarakat di luar masyarakat terdampak yang datang dari luar kota, masuk seolah-seolah bencana ini jadi tontonan,” ujar kepada wartawan di kantor Bupati Cianjur pada hariSelain hal tersebut bertentangan dengan rasa empati, kedatangan warga dari luar daerah untuk melihat kondisi korban juga menjadi salah satu penyebab kemacetan arus jalan. Akibatnya, proses evakuasi serta distribusi bantuan kepada para korban banyak yang mengalami hambatan.
"Jadi ini juga diimbau mohon rekan-rekan media sampaikan, jangan sampai kegiatan-kegiatan itu mengganggu proses penanganan masyarakat terdampak,” ujarnya. Rabu, 23 November 2022.
Selain hal tersebut bertentangan dengan rasa empati, kedatangan warga dari luar daerah untuk melihat kondisi korban juga menjadi salah satu penyebab kemacetan arus jalan. Akibatnya, proses evakuasi serta distribusi bantuan kepada para korban banyak yang mengalami hambatan.
"Jadi ini juga diimbau mohon rekan-rekan media sampaikan, jangan sampai kegiatan-kegiatan itu mengganggu proses penanganan masyarakat terdampak,” ujarnya. Suharyanto juga menyebut data yang masuk kepada BNPB pada hari ini belum termasuk korban meninggal yang langsung dimakamkan oleh pihak keluarga. Oleh karena itu, ia berkata BNPB akan melakukan pendataan kepada para jenazah yang langsung dimakamkan oleh pihak keluarga. "Oleh karena itu besok pagi kita akan telusuri terkait pendataan warga yang meninggal yang langsung dimakamkan," kata Suharyanto.
"Jadi ini juga diimbau mohon rekan-rekan media sampaikan, jangan sampai kegiatan-kegiatan itu mengganggu proses penanganan masyarakat terdampak,” ujarnya.
Suharyanto juga menyebut data yang masuk kepada BNPB pada hari ini belum termasuk korban meninggal yang langsung dimakamkan oleh pihak keluarga. Oleh karena itu, ia berkata BNPB akan melakukan pendataan kepada para jenazah yang langsung dimakamkan oleh pihak keluarga. "Oleh karena itu besok pagi kita akan telusuri terkait pendataan warga yang meninggal yang langsung dimakamkan," kata Suharyanto.
Selain data korban meninggal, BNPB juga mendapati laporan warga yang dilaporkan hilang. Suharyanto menyebut data warga yang masih belum ditemukan sudah mencapai 40 orang dengan sebagian besar korban hilang berasal dari wilayah Cugenang. "Tadi kami sudah berkoordinasi dengan kepada para camat terkait laporan warga yang hilang," kata dia kepada para wartawan.
According to Israeli media, the first blast occurred at the Central Bus Station, and the second one happened at Ramot Junction; medics suggest that at least two of those injured remain in serious or critical condition.
Israeli medics said that up to 22 people were wounded by Wednesday's twin explosions. Previously, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum stated on Twitter that the blasts injured 18 people. According to official data, one of the victims succumbed to wounds inflicted by the blast.
A clip purportedly showing the site of the first incident after the explosion is circulating online.
The second explosion was reported soon after the first one at Ramot Junction near the bus station; however, there is no information available about whether or not the incidents are connected.
According to reports, three Palestinians have been detained in connection with the explosions.
Authorities shut down traffic from the direction of Tel Aviv merging onto Road One, which is the main transport artery leading into Jerusalem. Police raised the alert level in the city, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz is holding an emergency meeting to address the blasts.
The blasts occurred amid another round of Israeli-Palestinian tensions in the region. Previously, Israeli troops have conducted raids in the West Bank, prompted by a spate of deadly attacks across the country.
Israeli authorities have shut down major roads and set up checkpoints in the eastern and western parts of Jerusalem as they conduct an investigation into the explosions and search for suspects.
Based on a decision by the defence minister, the Israeli army also announced the closure of two key checkpoints in the Jenin area – Jalameh and Salem.
The Israeli police commissioner said the kind of attack that took place in Jerusalem “has not been seen for years,” and that authorities are searching for the assailants. He added that police are searching for more possible explosives in the city.
Surveillance camera footage from the first explosion was shared on social media.
Yosef Haim Gabay, a medic who was at the scene when the blast occurred, told Army Radio that there was “damage everywhere here” and that some of the wounded were bleeding heavily.
While the cause was still being determined, the incident came as tensions on the ground continue to rise since last year. Israeli army raids and killings of Palestinians in towns and villages in the occupied West Bank have increased recently in parallel with a rise in Palestinian armed attacks, as well as an increase in settler attacks against Palestinians.
At least 200 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, have been killed by Israel in the territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip that it illegally occupies – in the deadliest year for Palestinians since 2006.
More than 25 people have also been killed on the Israeli side.
Just after midnight on Wednesday, Palestinian health officials confirmed the killing of 16-year-old boy, Ahmad Amjad Shehadeh, with a bullet in the heart in Nablus.
Israeli forces had raided Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank to secure the entry of Israeli settlers to the sensitive site of Joseph’s Shrine, which lies about a kilometre away from Nablus’s city centre.
At least five other Palestinians were injured after being shot with live ammunition and stun grenades, the health ministry said, including one in serious condition with a bullet to the stomach.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it dealt with 22 other injuries from rubber-coated bullets and dozens from tear-gas inhalation. It added that “the Red Crescent ambulance was targeted with live ammunition by the occupation forces”.
The explosions come as Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu continues negotiations to form a new governing coalition with far-right and ultranationalist parties. They won a majority in parliament in this month’s general election.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician who has called for the death penalty for Palestinians who carry out attacks, and who is set to become the internal security minister in charge of police in the country’s new government, said the Jerusalem explosions mean he will enforce stronger measures.
“We have to renew targeted assassinations and make them pay,” said Ben-Gvir, in reference to an increase in targeted Israeli army assassinations of Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank.
Hamas, the Palestinian group which governs the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip, praised the attack, calling it a heroic operation, but stopped short of claiming responsibility.
“The occupation is reaping the price of its crimes and aggression against our people.”
Oknum warga yang menghadang atau setop logistik bantuan korban gempa Cianjur, Jawa Barat saat di Polres Cianjur, Rabu (22/11/2022) (HO/Kariadil Harefa/Serang.Suara.com)
Polisi telah mengamankan beberapa orang yang dalam sebuah video yang diunggah di media sosial sedang mencegat ambulans yang hendak mengantarkan bantuan untuk korban gempa di Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat.
Dari tayangan video tampak beberapa warga yang berdiri di sisi jalan dan menghentikan ambulans yang melintas.
Dalam video tersebut, tampak beberapa warga yang berdiri di sisi jalan dan menghentikan ambulans yang melintas.
Kita dijegat ya..orang orang ini minta bantuan diturunin disini Sementara kita Mau ke ujung ..orang orang ini brentiin semua mobil yang ada tanpa terkecuali ambulan Lokasi tidak jauh dari SMP Terbuka Cigunang Rancagoong. Hati hati buat semua relawan.. pic.twitter.com/YRBvXLblUw
Akun Twitter @kangjail yang mengunggah Video di Twitter menyebutkan bahwa, kejadian tersebut terjadi di Jalan Cugenang, Kabupaten Cianjur.
Polisi mengamankan mereka setelah relawan bernama Wahyu dengan tim melaporkan kejadian yang mereka alami.
Terimakasih atas gerak cepatnya aparat Kepolisian dari Polres Cianjur ya g langsung mengamankan para pembegal logistik. Ini nanti kasian ke warga yg menjadi korban yg benar benar membutuhkan. Gara gara ini kita jadi mundur dan berputar hingga 5 jam Baru sampe lokasi pic.twitter.com/LhOmGy3DHp
Menurut informasi dari relawan itu, peristiwa terjadi di dekat SMP Terbuka Cugenang, Rancagoong, tepatnya dekat dengan kantor Desa Padaluyu, Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Tengah.
Bantuan gempa buat warga Cianjur, Jawa Barat merupakan donasi Yayasan Rokers Pantura Care, kata Wahyu, Rabu, 23/11/2022.
"Mereka minta bantuan dalam mobil, dan mengaku belum dapat bantuan sama sekali," ucap Wahyu kepada Serang.suara.com.
Wahyu menerangkan lagi, saat mereka tiba di SMP 3 Terbuka Cigunang, semua desak agar menurukan logistik.
"Kami pun lihat tidak ada posko dan tidak ada kerusakan di daerah sekitar," sambungnya.
Kepala Bidang Hubungan Masyarakat (Kabid Humas) Kepolisian Daerah (Polda) Jawa Barat, Komisaris Besar Polisi (Kombes Pol) Ibrahim Tompo, telah mengonfirmasi peristiwa penghadangan ambulans tersebut.
Ibrahim pun mengatakan, saat ini pelaku telah diamankan oleh pihak kepolisian.
"Pelaku sudah diamankan, sekarang lagi diperiksa. Kita tunggu hasilnya," ujar Ibrahim.
Ketiga oknum warga yang menghadang mobil bantuan sosial untuk korban gempa Cianjur akhirnya mengakui bersalah di depan publik.
Masing-masing mereka adalah Fery Permana (tengah), Rosadi (kanan) dan Juhendi (kiri). Mereka kemudian di bawa ke Polres Cianjur untuk mempertanggungjawabkan perbuatan mereka.
Fery Permana mengaku bahwa perbuatan mereka tersebut salah. Ia juga mengurai, kejadian setop mobil bantuan tersebut terjadi di Kabandungan, Desa Padaluyu, Kecamatan Cugenang, Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat.
Kemudian dari aksi mereka telah meresahkan warga Cianjur yang saat ini di landa musibah.
"Maka dari itu kami meminta maaf sebesar-besarnya kepada masyaraat Cianjur yang resah atas perbuatan kami tersebut," kata Fery Permana, hari Rabu, 23/11/2022.
Ia memakili dari kedua temannya termasuk dirinya, tidak akan mengulangi perbuatan itu lagi.
"Dan kami mengakui perbuatan kami tersebut salah. Serta tidak akan mengulang perbuatan tersebut," katanya.
Oknum warga yang menghadang mobil bantuan berisi logistik bagi korban terdampak gempa bumi, untuk tidak mencontoh dan meniru perbuatan mereka.
"Kami mohon kepada warga Cianjur untuk tidak mencontoh perilaku kami," imbuhnya.
Europe is bracing for tough winter as US-led push to “punish” Moscow for its military operation in Ukraine backfired on the EU, which has faced months of skyrocketing energy prices and rising inflation after Brussels joined Washington in attempting to “phase out” Russian oil, coal and gas.
Nightmare Before Christmas: Analysts Forecast Little Holiday Cheer For UK Retail
UK consumers are reportedly limiting their holiday spending amidst high inflation and a looming recession. The FTSE 350 Retailers Index dropped 32% this year – the biggest fall since 2008.
Deutsche bank and JP Morgan analysts have predicted tough times ahead for British retail as consumers cut their spending this winter. The news comes on top of an already hard year for companies due to higher costs and supply-chain problems.
Christmas Eve is considered by analysts to be a time of “recovery trade”. However, this year the prospects of recovery are questionable at best. Research stresses that consumers are “overwhelmingly” planning to cut their costs: they will spend less not only on Christmas presents but also on social events and even food.
However, even in this situation, there will be winners: discounters like Tesco and B&M European Value Retail.
Similarly, not every forecast is that dismal. A NielsenIQ survey showed that 63% of households plan to keep their Christmas budget unchanged.
The British economy is facing inflation that runs at a four-decade high. The energy crisis in European countries, UK included, was exacerbated by western sanctions imposed against Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine, and the energy crisis pushed millions of European households to the brink of fuel poverty.
Dutch Police Arrest Over 200 Climate Activists Over Stunt at Schiphol Airport, Reports Say
Dutch law enforcers arrested more than 200 climate activists, including those who had stopped several private jets from departing from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Saturday, Dutch media reported, citing military police.
According to the Dutch law enforcers, the arrests were made in connection with the climate actions at the country's main airport that took place on Saturday.
"They have all committed a criminal offense," a spokesperson for the military police was quoted as saying by press.
"They have all committed a criminal offense," a spokesperson for the military police was quoted as saying by press.
The detainees are currently being processed, the spokesperson said, adding that their future will be determined by the Public Prosecution Service, according to the report.
On Saturday, around one hundred climate activists of Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion movements broke into Amsterdam's Schiphol airport and sat on the runway in front of the wheels of private jets to stop them from leaving. Another climate action took place at Schiphol Plaza, the shopping area of the airport, with demonstrators reportedly carrying signs that read "Restrict Aviation" and "More Trains."
Protesters Hold Rally Against Energy Policies in Kishinev, Moldova
Protests have been hitting the East European country over the past weeks, since Moldova is suffering from soaring gas prices and inflation. Some are demanding resignation of President Maia Sandu and early elections.
Sputnik is live from the Moldovan capital Kishinev, where demonstrators are staging a rally against President Maia Sandu’s government and criticizing her energy policies, as Europe's fuel crisis hasn't spared the nation of fewer than 2.6 million people.
Moldovans have been organizing rallies in Kishinev in recent months, with thousands hitting the streets and clashing with police, as the opposition demands the resolution of the energy issue through the negotiation of deliveries with Russia.
Why is There an Energy Crisis in Europe and is Russia to Blame?
European officials continue to debate Brussels’ push to introduce a price cap on natural gas, with Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark uniting in opposition to the idea amid Moscow’s warnings that Russia simply won’t sell energy to Europe if it’s not profitable.
Is Russia responsible for Europe’s energy crisis? The short answer is, “yes…and no.”
The European Commission begrudgingly conceded this week that it would be “impossible” to put a cap on gas prices for electricity generation purposes, or to create a regional "transaction price corridor" to try to bring down sky-high costs.
Europex, the bloc’s association of energy exchanges, has expressed “concern” over the price cap idea, warning that it could “lead to a deterioration of security of supply” and cause “risks to financial stability.”
As winter draws near, many of Europe’s politicians and officials continue to blame Russia for the crunch.
“We need to keep the social peace. We need to keep the economies up and running. We need to ensure that (Vladimir) Putin will not be able to basically create social unrest or insolvencies or the recession of the European economy because whatever we have invested so far (in Ukraine) will be gone,” Czech Energy Minister Jozef Sikela told UK media on Wednesday.
Is Putin to Blame for Europe’s Energy Crisis?
Using the Russian president as a scapegoat responsible for all of Europe’s energy woes has become a favorite pastime for European officials and media over the past eight months, with Putin accused of attempting to “choke Europe off” from Russia’s cheap and plentiful energy to put pressure on Brussels over its support for Ukraine.
Both in words and actions, Russian officials have on the contrary demonstrated annoyance with Brussels’ attempts to cut Europe off from Russian energy, reiterating Moscow’s willingness to turn on the taps of existing routes, and to create new ones.
In late September, for example, Putin accused the “Anglo-Saxons” of blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines and thus “embarking on the destruction of Europe’s entire energy infrastructure,” depriving the region of as much as 110 billion cubic meters of gas per year (about a quarter of the EU’s gas consumption in 2021). Before that, the Russian president repeatedly expressed Moscow’s willingness to turn on the taps in short order if the EU and the UK dropped sanctions preventing the pipelines’ maintenance and operations.
Along with Nord Stream, Gazprom operates the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline with its 33 billion cu3/year capacity, and Soyuz (26.1 billion cu3/year). The flow of Russian gas through Yamal-Europe was stopped this summer after Poland cut off flows and turned the pipeline on in reverse flow. Soyuz, which runs through Ukraine, has also seen flows drop, but not stop, thanks to the Russia-NATO proxy conflict in that country.
Consequently, the only Russian gas pipeline network through which flows have remained steady throughout the past eight months is TurkStream, a 31.5 billion cu3/year pipeline which runs along the bottom of the Black Sea to Turkey, and from there, on to Greece, the Balkans, and Southern and Central Europe.
Strawman Putin is so dastardly that Moscow and Ankara recently even announced talks on turning Turkey into a gas hub for additional deliveries to Europe. Politicians in Brussels and European media have yet to spin that story into another example of Russian efforts to "choke" the Europeans.
How is Russia Responsible for Europe’s Energy Crisis?
If Russia is somehow responsible for Europe’s energy crisis, it’s only by spending decades building pipeline, port, and other transmission infrastructure, and opening up the riches of Siberia to the Europeans and providing them with cheap and reliable gas, oil, coal, and electricity supplies for so long.
This past spring, as politicians rushed to “punish” Moscow for its military operation in Ukraine, European multinationals, recognizing that their prosperity and profits hinge on Russian energy, sounded the alarm about the prospects of being cut off from this cornucopia of prosperity which has allowed them to line their pockets for so long. In April, the CEO of German chemicals giant BASF warned that by cutting itself off from Russian gas, Berlin raised the specter of destroying “our entire economy with our eyes wide open” and sparking “the worst crisis for the German economy” since World War II.
Later in the year, leading German economic researchers and unions emphasized that Germany couldn’t simultaneously fill its gas reserves and continue to operate energy-intensive industries, and that the gas crisis threatened to bankrupt “entire branches of German industry.”
Putin warned Germany and other European countries about the folly of their ways back in May, characterizing EU sanctions on Russian energy as “suicidal” and emphasizing that the move would rob the bloc of its global economic competiveness and cause businesses to flee.
Later, the Russian president pointed out that Europe’s allies across the ocean were putting pressure on Brussels to sanction Nord Stream. “And why are the Americans pressuring the Europeans? Because they themselves want to sell them gas for three times the price,” Putin said.
Russia's ’s warnings came to pass, with hundreds of European manufacturers, including steel and chemical makers, car manufacturers, pharmaceutical and food companies shifting operations to the US, where energy is cheaper, thereby threatening the EU with deindustrialization, not with a bang, but with a whimper.
At least some of Europe’s leaders appear to have caught on to America’s strategy. Last month, in a rare break with Washington, French President Emmanuel Macron blasted the US for selling gas to European countries at prices several times above domestic US rates. “Their costs of energy are so much lower as they are producers. They sell their gas for 3-4 times less than we have to pay, and they have also great subsidies from the state in some areas, up to 90 percent. That is unfair. These are double standards,” Macron complained.
Late last month, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol nevertheless expressed certainty that Russia would “lose the energy battle” with the West, and wouldn’t be able to replace lost European oil and gas markets, which have been “lost...forever,” with alternative buyers.
Just who's going to “lose” what remains to be seen. Russia produces roughly 10 percent of the world’s oil, about 14 percent of the world’s gas, accounts for about 18 percent of global coal exports, and about 2.2 percent of electricity exports. In a tight energy market in which prices are high and availability is limited (thanks in part to OPEC+’s recent decision to cut crude production), Russia will remain the elephant in the room that Europe won’t be able to ignore – if the Europeans want to preserve at least a shred of their erstwhile global economic competitiveness, that is.
When Did the European Energy Crisis Begin?
Contrary to what politicians and pundits with the memory of gold fish might tell you, Europe’s energy crisis didn’t actually start this year. Global energy prices really began to creep up in the fall and winter of 2021. The price hike has been attributed to a broad range of factors, including growing energy demand, rising competition for a shrinking pool of supply between Europe and Asia, unusually cool weather, countries’ failure to stock up on natural gas in the summer months, over-dependence on spot market prices, and poorer-than-expected returns on investment in alternative energy sources such as wind as solar power, which have been pushed heavily by the World Economic Forum’s “green transition” initiatives.
Earlier this year, Putin pointed out that in the West, capital investments in the traditional energy sector have stagnated for many years in favor of alternative sources. “They are big specialists in non-traditional relations. So they decided to put a premium on non-traditional energy in the field of energy – solar and wind energy. It turned out to be a long winter. There was no wind. That’s it,” the Russian president quipped.
