Russia has a long tradition of using oil and natural gas as an instrument of blackmail. While there is still a demand for Russian gas, Russia has more opportunities for financing the war in Ukraine.
After the start of the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine, anti-Russian sanctions started coming into force. However, different European countries chose different strategies: some of them, such as Poland and Bulgaria, started taking quick measures to decrease their dependence on Russia, and others, such as Germany, are still very dependent on Russian gas.
For many years, Russian foreign policy was aimed to make Europe dependent on its resources to gain another instrument of manipulation. Western industries start suffering from the lack of gas and people in different countries will be forced to save on heating, but Europe is already working on an energy efficiency plan to gain independence from Russian gas till 2024.
Speaker:
- Olena Pavlenko, President of DiXi Group analytical center, energy expert.
UKRAINE IN FLAMES project is created by Ukraine Crisis Media Center and NGO “Euroatlantic Course”. We are aiming at searching a loud support for Ukraine in the war started by Russia on the 24th of February 2022.
If you want to support Ukraine against Russian aggression, check the link with recommendations by Ukraine Crisis Media Center – https://uacrisis.org/en/help-ukraine.
NGO Euroatlantic Course collects donations to support Ukrainian Army and civilians – https://eac.org.ua/en/main-page/.