Free Republic

One of the German diplomats who snickered when then-President Donald Trump said Germany would “become totally dependent on Russian energy” didn’t respond to a question on whether his views have changed as rising energy costs amidst the war in Ukraine seem to prove Trump right. Trump made the remarks during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in Sept. 2018. Trump said during the same speech: “Reliance on a single foreign supplier can leave a nation vulnerable to extortion and intimidation.” At the time, Germany and the United States disagreed strongly about the construction of Russia’s Nord Stream 2...

Donald Trump standing tall for America!!! No wonder they hated him!!!

Now Moscow claims that Britain's ROYAL NAVY blew up Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines as Ministry of Defence says 'invented' slur 'says more about arguments going on inside Russia's government' Russian defence ministry said UK's Navy helped plan and implement the 'attack' Also claimed the same troops were responsible for a drone attack this morning British Ministry of Defence said Moscow has 'resorted to peddling false claims' Nord Stream pipes exploded last month, leading to four gas leaks in Baltic Sea Russia's army has accused the British Navy of being 'involved' in explosions on the Nord Stream gas...

The Swedish Security Service’s crime scene investigation of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines has now been completed. The investigation has strengthened the suspicions of gross sabotage. The Security Service carried out the crime scene investigation, beginning this past weekend, with excellent support and cooperation from the Swedish Coast Guard, Armed Forces and Police Authority. The crime scene investigation has shown that there have been detonations near Nord Stream 1 and 2, within the Swedish economic zone, resulting in extensive damage to the gas pipelines. Certain seizures were made during the on-site investigation. The Swedish Security Service is...

... Russia supplied around 40% of all the gas consumed in the EU in 2021. Germany is especially reliant on this supply of cheap gas. Gas only generates about 15% of the country’s electricity but many rely on it for heating and it is vital to heavy industries such as petrochemicals that use a lot of energy. Drastic measures are now necessary to secure alternative supplies, reduce gas demand and prepare for the possibility of shortages this winter. The EU’s Save Gas for a Safe Winter program aims to reduce overall gas demand by 15% across the bloc this winter...

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday warned that if Russia invades Ukraine, there would be no Nord Stream 2, but did not specify how he would go about ensuring the controversial pipeline would not be used. Speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Biden said, "If Russia invades... again, then there will be longer Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it." When asked how he would do that, he responded, "I promise you we will be able to do it." Europe's most divisive energy project, Nord Stream 2...

Thank you USA BTW, there's no shortage of pipeline capacity for taking gas from Russia to Western Europe, including Germany. Nordstream's only logic was for Putin to be able to blackmail or wage war on Eastern Europe with impunity. All Ukrainian and Baltic sea states have opposed Nordstream's construction for 20 years. Now $20 billion of scrap metal lies at the bottom of the sea, another cost to Russia of its criminal decision to invade Ukraine. Someone, @MFA_Russia, did a special maintenance operation.

someone blew up in Nor Stream Pipe line and gas is escaping from the Baltic Sea

"Poland and Bulgaria’s foreign ministries are recommending all of their citizens leave Russia." "Speculating here, but couple this with all the nuclear saber rattling, and I wouldn’t be shocked to find out that Russia has been caught preparing to use a tactical nuke in Ukraine." https://twitter.com/Angry_Staffer/status/1574848223004565504

Biden: "If Russia invades... then there will be no longer a Nordstream 2. We will bring an end to it." Reporter: "But how will you do that exactly? (...)" Biden: "I promise you we will be able to do it" Victoria Nuland 1/27/2022: "If Russia invades Ukraine, by any means, Nord Stream 2 will not exist"

Did Putin’s frogmen blow up Europe’s gas supplies? Western leaders blame ‘deliberate’ sabotage after Nordsteam pipe from Russia ruptured off Sweden causing 3000ft-wide bubbles and sending prices spiking Three leaks reported in Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines near Danish island last night and this morning Pipelines are leaking gas into the Baltic Sea, with one area more than 3,000ft wide churning with bubbles Danish PM Mette Frederiksen has said her government believes the leaks were caused by 'deliberate actions' Ukraine also pointed the finger at Moscow, describing the incident as a 'terrorist attack and act of aggression' Latvian Defence...

BERLIN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had weeks ago warned Germany about possible attacks on gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, German magazine Spiegel said on Tuesday, after gas leaks in Russia pipelines to Germany were reported.

Poland and Norway opened a new gas pipeline via Denmark on Tuesday, hailed as a much-needed alternative to Russian-controlled routes. At a ceremony in Poland, Norway’s Energy Minister Terje Aasland said the opening of Baltic Pipe was “a milestone on the important path towards European independence”... Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said it “marks a crucial geopolitical step for all of us.” “Putin uses Russian energy as a weapon to destabilise Europe, to divide us. He cannot be allowed to succeed,” Ms Frederiksen said, referring to the Russian president. Poland, one of the fiercest advocates in Europe of isolating Moscow,...

Two undersea pipelines crucial to delivering Russian natural gas to Germany were hit with mysterious leaks on Thursday, prompting concerns of sabotage. Why it matters: The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines have been central to the energy crisis that has enveloped Europe in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While Nord Stream 2 hasn't entered commercial operation — its certification was halted on the eve of the invasion — Nord Stream 1 provided a crucial pathway for Russian gas to reach Europe until earlier this month, when Russia closed the pipeline citing maintenance concerns. The big picture: Two...

Tuesday is the final day of voting in a series of referendums on joining Russia. The votes, widely seen as rigged and illegitimate, are likely to pave the way for Russia to announce it has annexed more of Ukraine by the end of the week, analysts say. The votes have been taking place in two pro-Russian, self-proclaimed “republics” in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and southern occupied regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. There have been multiple reports of votes being staged and coercion and aggression being used to force people living in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to vote...

Danish authorities on Monday asked ships to steer clear of a five nautical mile radius off the island of Bornholm after a gas leak overnight from the defunct Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline drained into the Baltic Sea. The German government said it was in contact with the Danish authorities and working with local law enforcement to find out what caused pressure in the pipeline to plummet suddenly. On Monday evening, the operator of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which ran at reduced capacity since mid-June before stopping supplies altogether in August, also disclosed a pressure drop on both lines...

A series of unusual leaks on two natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany triggered concerns about sabotage Tuesday, overshadowing the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster Europe’s energy independence from Moscow. Seismic stations Sweden, Norway and Finland registered two explosions Monday near the leaks. Bjorn Lund, a seismologist with Uppsala University who is part of Sweden’s national seismic network, said the first explosion was recorded in the early hours southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm. The latter and stronger blast that night was northeast of...

Is that on sale? White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre received social media scorn Tuesday after she accidentally called Russia’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline “Nordstrom” — as in the department store. The slip of the tongue came as President Biden’s chief spokeswoman accused Russia of fueling an energy crisis in Europe by shutting down the pipeline, which supplies natural gas to large swathes of the continent. “What we see Russia is doing, we’ve been very clear about this, they’re using energy, they’re weaponizing energy,” Jean-Pierre told reporters during her regular press briefing. “One of the things that has been out...

Those taking the German government to task over the ongoing gas crisis have been branded the “new enemies of the state” by one government minister in the country. An ostensibly “centrist” minister in Germany has branded those looking to hold officials accountable for their chronic mismanagement of the country as the “new enemies of the state”. The minister — who is a member of former chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party — made the claim as authorities in the country begin to fear significant backlash for gas shortages in the winter, with one official saying that he is...