Putin puts the energy squeeze on pro-EU Moldova

Politico ^ | 21 November 2021 | Victor Jack

[Cronos]

At the peak of his power, Russian President Vladimir Putin thought he could use his energy weapon to impose his will across Europe.

Now Moldova — with a population of only 2.5 million — is emerging as the last truly vulnerable energy target in his flailing campaign to destabilize governments in the neighborhood taking a pro-EU trajectory.

But no matter how hard Putin tries to turn the energy screws to topple the administration, Moldova’s government is doggedly resisting. Only last week Russian missile strikes triggered blackouts in half the country and last month Gazprom slashed gas supplies by a third, but engineers and politicians are working round-the-clock to ensure that energy networks keep running.

...Gazprom, which has traditionally supplied all Moldova’s gas, slashed flows by one-third in October to 5.7 million cubic meters (mcm) a day. It also warned it could cut off supplies entirely “at any time” — something Gavrilița admitted was now “very real possibility.”

The reasons for this reduction are “geopolitical,” Spînu said, adding that Gazprom is “becoming not a trustful partner for Moldova.”

“There are some political interests of Russia toward Moldova,” he said. “They don’t want us to keep going on the European Union path … they want to keep Moldova under their zone of interest.”

Romania provides 80%-90% of Moldova's energy needs

[Keb]

True - But he is the one who started the "invading, rocket-bombing, seizing territory, and killing innocent civilians"-war.

Like we did twice in Iraq, Afghanistan, Serbia, Syria and other places?

And, other than Afghanistan, the Russians have better reasons to have gone into Ukraine that we did in all those other places.

Better check your maps. Saddam Hussein started the war against Kuwait, which the United States later joined on Kuwait's side. Once at war, the United States and Iraq remained at war, until Saddam's removal. The war was paused by a cease fire. Do you know what a "cease fire" is?

Bin Laden started the war with the United States, which Afghanistan joined on Bin Laden's side. Technically, the second World Trade Center attack was an attack by Afghanistan against the United States. (Nations are responsible to each other for acts of war launched from their territories.) If Afghanistan had handed Bin Laden over, Afghanistan's responsibility for the attacks would have been overlooked. That's how it's done. When Afghanistan endorsed its protection of Bin Laden, Afghanistan became responsible for the World Trade center attack, under international law.

Milosevic started the war with the Kossovar Albanians. Milosevic's genocide would have been an internal matter, Serbia massacring Serbians, if he had not proposed to drive a couple million people over the borders into other countries. That made it an international matter. Several nations, including the United States, then intervened in the Kossovar's defense. The war was handled with Clintonian ineptitude, but it was Milosevic who started the war.

I'm not sure what you're referring to in Syria. The campaign against the Islamic State? (Which was part of a war started by the Islamic State.)

Also, Russia had zero legitimate reason to invade the Ukraine. President Putin was expressly trying to rebuild the empire which had been crumbling. "Moscow once ruled you" is not a legitimate reason for invading another country. (Actually, Russia had specifically obligated itself to protect the Ukraine's territorial integrity, in the deal for the Ukraine to give Russia the Soviet nuclear missiles on its territory. Of course, only a fool would expect Russia to keep its treaty obligations.)

[NorseViking]

Not to mention that the “pro-EU” (p) resident Sandu has an approval rating of 5% and there are non-stop protests against the EU.