WINTER IS COMING
Russian oil firm Gazprom taunts West with video showing Europe ‘freezing over’ in ‘ice age’ after Putin shuts off gas
A RUSSIAN energy giant has released a video of Europe 'freezing to death' without Russian gas in a bid to taunt the West.
Gazprom's two-minute video comes just days after it vowed to indefinitely keep natural gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline shut off.
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In its eerie video titled "Winter will be big", the Russian state-controlled natural gas supplier purports to show Europe "freezing over" in an "ice age" after Gazprom turned off its gas flow.
The video shows aerial views of Western Europe's capitals including Berlin, Paris, and London's Shard all covered in white snow and freezing fog.
Vladimir Putin's entourage has claimed Western sanctions are to blame for Russia's gas supplies to Germany being halted via the Nord Stream pipeline.
On Monday, the Kremlin said the Western sanctions were preventing the maintenance of the pipeline, which is shut for repairs.
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"Problems with pumping (gas) arose due to sanctions that were imposed against our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"Sanctions that prevent the units from being serviced, that prevent them from being moved without appropriate legal guarantees... it is these sanctions imposed by Western states that have brought the situation to what we see now."
The Kremlin insisted sanctions have blocked the return of a Siemens turbine that had been undergoing repairs in Canada.
The turbine is now located in Germany, which Russia accused of blocking the return of the essential appliance.
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The spokesman accused the West of "placing responsibility and blame" on Moscow for the halt - that Western experts describe as gas blackmail.
Peskov added: "It is the collective West -- in this case the European Union, Canada and Britain -- that are to blame for the situation reaching this point."
Following the imposition of economic sanctions over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine and repeated reports of human rights abuses, Moscow has reduced or totally stopped gas supplies to several European countries, causing energy prices to skyrocket.
This week, Pescov Peskov admitted the Nord Stream 1 would only reopen if crippling sanctions on Russia were lifted.
European nations have been scrambling to create a steady supply of gas ahead of the winter months as Russia makes the most of its upper hand.
The reliance on Russian gas has left the West in a precarious position while defiantly supporting Ukraine in the bloody conflict.
Around half of EU member states have already been impacted by the disruption to the key gas supply.
Gas prices were already high before the Ukraine war as demand soared after the lifting of Covid restrictions.
But prices skyrocketed after the invasion as Russia is one of the world's biggest producers.
Continental Europe is heavily reliant in Russian gas imports, leading to fears of winter blackouts, rationing and factory closures in Germany.
Only a tiny fraction of Britain's gas comes directly from Russia.
But the UK relies more on gas for generating electricity than European neighbours because it has less nuclear and renewable energy.
Britain also has little storage capacity, forcing energy firms to buy gas on the highly volatile short-term spot market.
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Even the abundant North Sea gas is sold to the UK based on international market prices.
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Domestic gas and electricity bills will soar to an average £3,549 from October 1, Ofgem on August 26.
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