Ukraine advocated Monday for “maximum support” for its efforts to defeat Russia in order to blunt economic effects on European allies, while Russia reiterated its blame on Western sanctions for disruptions of gas shipments to Germany.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia’s “military aggression against Ukrainians, energy blackmail against EU citizens” were to blame for “rising prices and utility bills in EU countries.”
“Solution: maximum support to Ukraine so that we defeat Putin sooner and he does not harm Europe anymore,” Kuleba tweeted.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Western sanctions were “causing chaos” for maintenance of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which Russian energy giant Gazprom shut down last week after saying it detected an oil leak.
European countries that have sent munitions to the Kyiv government and helped train its fighters have accused Russia of weaponizing energy supplies they have purchased from Moscow.
“Problems with gas supply arose because of the sanctions imposed on our country by Western states, including Germany and Britain,” Peskov said.
The Group of Seven (G-7) nations have proposed capping the price on Russian oil exports to limit Russian profits that help fund Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine.
Russia, in turn, said it would not sell oil to any countries that implement such a cap.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised Sunday that Germany would make it through the winter, telling a news conference in Berlin, “Russia is no longer a reliable energy partner.”
Scholz announced a $65 billion relief plan that includes one-time payments to households, tax breaks for industries that use substantial amounts of fuel and cheaper public transportation options. The Berlin government also plans to guarantee its citizens a certain amount of electricity at a lower cost.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
