Former chairman of Ukraine’s state-owned gas company Naftogaz, Andrii Koboliev, believes Russian strikes on Ukraine’s gas infrastructure aim to force the restoration of gas transit to the EU by bringing the issue to the negotiation table in Kyiv-Moscow peace talks pushed by US President Donald Trump. He expressed this opinion on Facebook.
Kobolev wrote:
“A month ago we were talking about a possible gas blackout and important steps to avoid it. Gas imports and weather helped a lot, March turned out to be warm, and we’ve passed the worst period. But Russians continue to target our gas production, focusing their strikes on its most vulnerable spot – the ground infrastructure for gas processing. A logical question arises – why do this right now, if they can no longer provoke a gas blackout,” Koboliev wrote.
The former Naftogaz chief continued:
“The logical question arises – why do this right now, when they can no longer provoke a gas blackout. The only rational answer to this question is the topic of gas transit,” Koboliev explained.
According to the former Naftogaz chief, Russia is trying to use this situation to return the topic of Russian gas to the agenda of peace negotiations, which Ukraine is being pushed toward by the new US administration.
“It is no secret that the Kremlin deeply misses its status as the EU’s primary gas supplier.” Koboliev says.
He warned that Ukraine needs to be prepared for various scenarios and have strategies ready that will protect Ukrainian interests.
Kobolev considers the restoration of the Nord Stream pipelines – gas pipelines from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea – to be the worst-case scenario for Ukraine, noting that such discussions are already taking place.
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