Kremlin accused of blackmail amid plans to shut Nord Stream 1 pipeline for servicing

RUSSIA has been accused of blackmail after its state energy company announced it would temporarily shut down the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline for unscheduled maintenance.

Gazprom said late on Friday that the pipeline’s only remaining compressor needs servicing and will be offline from Aug 31 to Sept 2.

But Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, warned Europeans that such moves highlighted Russia’s policy of “blackmail in the field of energy”.

“The longer the terrorist state remains on the European and world energy market, the longer it will be unstable,” he said.

“The sooner everyone in Europe prepares their energy systems to exist without any supply from Russia, the sooner they will be able to get through any winter.” The announcement sparked renewed fears that Russia could completely cut Europe off from its gas supplies as the continent races to ensure it has enough energy to get through the winter.

The closure follows a 10-day maintenance period in July, when the threat of a major energy crisis arose in Germany, where the pipeline terminates.

Ukraine has offered to assist Europe bridge the gap in its energy supplies by using its own pipelines to help the gas reach Europe.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline had already been running at only 20 per cent of its capacity, and the drastic cut to flows of Russian gas has hit Germany hard.

Several high-ranking German politicians this week rejected a proposal that gas shortages could be alleviated by reviving the cancelled Nord Stream 2 pipeline, as the Kremlin has suggested.

Gyde Jensen, FDP parliamentary group leader, said: “Nord Stream 2 has always been a solo effort that alienated our Eastern European neighbours. When there is war in Europe, we must stand together,” she said on Twitter.

Kevin Kuehnert, the general secretary of chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD, said: “I strongly suggest we spare ourselves the humiliation of asking Putin for something that we’re not going to get.”

He added: “The dependence on him has to end for once and all.”

‘The sooner Europe prepares energy systems without Russia the sooner they will get through any winter ’