Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, has warned Europeans to prepare for a challenging winter as a result of Russia’s invasion of his nation, which has caused Moscow to reduce its oil and gas exports.
After Moscow shut down a major pipeline that transports Russian gas to the continent, Zelenskiy was speaking on Saturday night.
In his daily video speech, Putin declared that “Russia is preparing a decisive energy blow on all Europeans for this winter.” Moscow has blamed the electricity outages on technical difficulties as well as Western sanctions imposed as a result of its invasion of Ukraine. European nations that have provided diplomatic and military backing to the Kyiv administration have accused Russia of turning energy supplies into weapons.
According to some observers, as governments work to appease irate citizens, the shortages and an increase in living expenses as winter draws near risk eroding Western support for Kyiv.
Moscow said this week that it will maintain the Nord Stream 1 pipeline’s closure, which is its primary gas pipeline to Germany, and the G7 nations established a proposed price ceiling on Russian oil exports. The Kremlin declared that it would halt oil sales to any nations that adopted the limit.
Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, stated on Sunday that his administration had planned for a complete halt in gas delivery in December but he vowed that his nation would survive the winter.
At a news conference in Berlin, Scholz declared that “Russia is no longer a trustworthy energy partner.” U.N. inspectors reported on Saturday that the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor in southern Ukraine once more had a power outage.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement that the final main external power line was turned off, but a reserve line continued to provide electricity into the grid. Only one of its six reactors remained in operation, it said.
On February 24, immediately after sending his army across the border, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to capture the factory, which has since come to symbolize the conflict. The bombardment in the area that sparked worries that a nuclear catastrophe would be set off has been attributed to one side by the other.
The situation around the plant has remained peaceful so far on Sunday, according to a representative of the Russian-installed government in Zaporizhzhya.
Read also – Weary but unbowed, Ukraine to mark Independence Day amid new strike fears
