“Account for your idiots”: Medvedev addresses EU residents

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, advised Europeans to hold their politicians to account for the sanctions against Russia, which led to “cold in apartments and empty shelves in refrigerators”.

“So take action, European neighbors! Don’t be silent. Ask your fools to account. And we will hear you. The benefit is obvious – in winter with Russia, it is much warmer and more comfortable than the magnificent insulation when the gas stove is turned off and the battery is cold, ”the former president of Russia wrote on his Telegram channel.

Medvedev believes that the authorities of European countries “are racing to see who will speak more angrily about their desire to break off all relations with Russia.”

“Literally: we despise the Russians and don’t want to let them go anywhere. Cancel visas. Forget the books. See pictures. Hear the music. We will not buy gas and oil,” he said, adding that “the latter is more difficult, especially in anticipation of a cold winter.”

Citing anonymous polls, the politician claims that “more than half of EU residents are not at all willing to cut off contact with Russia.”

The European Union has imposed sanctions against the backdrop of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, which, according to Medvedev, “do no harm to any EU citizen.” According to the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, “the secular man is finally starting to wonder: why pay for other people’s sins?”

Pawel Borys, head of the Polish Development Fund, told Business Insider that the main task for European countries is to “get through the winter safely”. Borys believes this will work if “Europe and the US maintain unity and determination.”

“If Europe survives this winter, Russia will not be able to destabilize its energy market as early as next year,” said the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit.

He explained that the current energy crisis is due to Moscow’s actions in the field of gas supply. “A year ago, Russia several times caused an unprecedented increase in gas prices, and after the launch of a special operation in Ukraine, the supply was suspended,” he said, emphasizing that the increase in prices for citizens was about 40-%. 58%.

Meanwhile, gas futures have fluctuated between $2,400 and $2,600 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas in recent days. This is evidenced by data from the London Stock Exchange ICE.

Now, Russian gas is supplied to Europe through several pipelines. Gazprom supplies 41.6 million cubic meters of gas per day via Urengoy-Uzhgorod (via Ukraine), according to data from 6 August. Turkish Stream, where gas is supplied to Serbia, Greece and Italy, is also operating normally. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Turkish Stream is “one of the most important arteries supplying Russian gas to Europe” and works “accurately, rhythmically and without errors”.

In addition, Gazprom supplies fuel via Nord Stream. However, in mid-June, the company had to reduce its gas pump in this direction by about 40%. This was because the Siemens turbine, necessary for the safe operation of the Portovaya station, did not return in time from repairs in Canada.

On July 25, it was learned that Gazprom reduced the passage over Nord Stream to 33 million cubic meters. m per day, in normal mode, 160 million cubic meters were pumped per day. gas m.

In response to this news, users from Europe and the US wrote that “it will be cold in winter” and that “democratic coal is better than ‘dictatorial’ natural gas”. Others have suggested launching Nord Stream 2 rather than “embedding” it.

Nord Stream 2 was ready for operation in September 2021, but on February 22 of this year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stopped the certification of the gas pipeline, which is expected to pump 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia to Germany.

Meanwhile, the EU is mitigating the risks posed by completely stopping the transit of Russian gas.

In early August, the EU entered into a contingency plan to reduce natural gas consumption. Therefore, all countries of the union must voluntarily reduce their gas consumption by 15% from August to March next year, compared to the average for the same period in five years.

The European Commission calculated: EU countries should save 45 billion cubic meters in total. fuel m. Moreover, Germany alone will have to reduce its gas consumption by 10 billion cubic meters.

If the European authorities fail to implement the plan, mandatory targets will be introduced to reduce gas consumption.

As for the citizens themselves, they can lower the heating temperature of buildings by at least one degree to save gas. According to EC chief Ursula von der Leyen, this will help the EU “save around 7% energy throughout the year”.