Germany rejects Russian explanation for gas supply cut

German interests on Monday cast doubt on Russian explanations for less gas being delivered. Last month, Russia’s Gazprom reduced gas deliveries by 60 percent. The state-owned gas company said there was equipment—a turbine on a Russia-Europe pipeline—that was sent to Canada for overhaul and couldn’t be returned because of sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now Gazprom has claimed force majeure—circumstances outside of its control—for recent gas shortages. The pipeline shut down altogether for annual maintenance July 11, and Germans officials said they were concerned Russia may not resume any deliveries after the scheduled end of that work Thursday.

Why is Germany accusing Russia of intentionally cutting off the gas? The German government said Monday that the turbine on the pipeline ferrying gas from Russia to Europe hadn’t been earmarked for installation until September, so it shouldn’t have affected the current supply. The Canadian government also recently said it would allow the gas turbine to be delivered to Germany, citing the “very significant hardship” that the German economy would suffer without enough gas. Economy Ministry spokeswoman Beate Baron told reporters in Berlin on Monday that there were no technical reasons to shut down. Russia has already cut gas supplies to the Netherlands, Poland, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Finland over their failure to comply with a new payment scheme. It has also cut gas to France and partially to Italy.

Dig deeper: Read a report in WORLD Magazine by some of this year’s World Journalism Institute students about other economic ripple effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.