Ukraine’s Zelenskyy warns Europe to brace for winter energy crisis – National
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Europeans to expect a difficult winter as the Russian attack on his country leads to cuts in Moscow’s oil and gas exports, while the continent’s leaders worked Sunday to mitigate the impact of high energy prices. to soften.
Zelenskyy spoke on Saturday night after Moscow shut down a main pipeline supplying Russian gas to the continent.
“Russia is preparing a decisive energy surge for all Europeans this winter,” he said in his daily video speech.
Moscow has cited Western sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine and technical difficulties for the power cuts. European countries that have supported Kiev with diplomatic and military support have accused Russia of arming its energy supply.
Some analysts say the shortages and a rise in the cost of living as winter approaches risk undermining Western support for Kiev as governments try to deal with disaffected populations.
Separately, the US embassy in Moscow said John Sullivan, the ambassador since his appointment by former President Donald Trump in 2019, had left his post and was retiring from the diplomatic service. A State Department official said Sullivan had served a typical tour duration. Read the full story
Last week, Moscow said it would keep the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the main gas channel to Germany, closed and the G7 countries announced a planned price cap on Russian oil exports.
The Kremlin said it would stop selling oil to countries that have introduced the limit.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that his government planned to cut gas supplies completely in December, promising measures to lower prices and link social benefits to inflation.
“Russia is no longer a reliable energy partner,” Scholz told a press conference in Berlin.
In response to that comment, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused Germany of being “an unfriendly country” and an enemy of Russia. “In other words, it has declared a hybrid war on Russia,” he said.
Last Sunday, Finland and Sweden announced plans to offer billions of dollars to energy companies to avert the threat of insolvency during the crisis.
Russian authorities said on Sunday the situation around the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya in southern Ukraine was calm on Sunday after UN inspectors said it had lost external power.
The last remaining external power line was cut, although a backup line continued to supply electricity to the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement. Read the full story
Only one of the six reactors remained in operation, it said.
Russian forces seized the factory shortly after President Vladimir Putin sent his army across the border on Feb. 24 and has become a focal point of the conflict.
Each side has blamed the other for shelling that has heightened fears of nuclear disaster.
Speaking to Komsomolskaya Pravda radio, the official, Vladimir Rogov, said there had been no shelling or raids. Russia has twice accused Ukraine of trying to capture the plant in the past two days. Ukraine said Russia had attacked the area itself.
IAEA experts are expected to continue working at the plant until at least Monday, Rogov said.
An IAEA mission last week toured the factory, which is still operated by Ukrainian personnel, and some experts have remained there pending the release of an IAEA report.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of stocking heavy weapons in Zaporizhzhya to discourage Ukraine from firing at them. Russia, which denies having such weapons there, has resisted international calls to demilitarize the area.
On other fronts, Ukrainian Telegram channels reported explosions at the Antonivsky Bridge near the southern city of Kherson, which is occupied by Russian forces.
The bridge has been badly damaged by Ukrainian missiles in recent weeks, but Russian forces tried to repair the bridge or set up a pontoon crossing or barges to supply Russian units on the right bank of the Dnipro River.
Ukraine last week launched a counter-offensive against the south, particularly the Kherson region, which was occupied by the Russians early in the conflict.
