Daily Express: Europeans froze in anticipation of a “death blow” from Russia

MOSCOW, August 28 – PRIME. Russia will inflict a crushing blow on Europe if it finally cuts off the flow of gas through the Nord Stream pipeline, says Daily Express analyst Thibaut Spirle.

He expressed fears that the previously announced by Moscow suspension of the gas pipeline from August 31 to September 2 could last, which would be a “mortal blow” for Europe.

The analyst cited the opinion of energy security expert Valerie Chow, who said that “the complete shutdown of Nord Stream 1 could lead to depletion of gas reserves in the EU by early January 2023.”

Spierle noted that although the EU countries have reduced Russia’s share in fuel supplies, they are still heavily dependent on Russian energy sources.

Western countries have imposed new sanctions against Russia after the start of a special operation by the Russian army to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. In particular, Russian reserves worth about $300 billion were frozen. Calls to abandon Russian energy sources began to sound louder and louder. However, disruption of supply chains has led to economic problems in Europe and the US, and above all to higher prices for food and fuel.

The Kremlin called the sanctions an economic war like no other. The authorities stressed their readiness for such a development of events and assured that they would continue to fulfill social obligations. The Central Bank is taking measures to stabilize the situation on the foreign exchange market. The authorities also transferred payment for gas to unfriendly countries in rubles. In addition, the government has prepared a plan to counter the restrictions, which includes about a hundred initiatives. The amount of its funding will be about a trillion rubles.