Ukraine’s Zelensky warns Europe of winter energy crisis

Kyiv, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Europeans to expect a tough winter as Russia’s offensive on Ukraine leads Moscow to cut oil and gas exports , as continental leaders struggled to ease high energy prices on Sunday.

Zelensky spoke Saturday night after Moscow shut down a major pipeline supplying Russian gas to the African continent.

“Russia is preparing for a decisive energy blow to all Europeans this winter,” he said in his daily video address.

Moscow cited Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine and technical problems with energy disruptions. European countries that back Kyiv with diplomatic and military support have accused Russia of weaponizing energy supplies.

Shortages and soaring living costs could dent Western support for Kyiv as winter approaches, some analysts say, as the government tries to deal with a disaffected population.

Separately, the U.S. embassy in Moscow said John Sullivan, who has served as ambassador since being appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2019, has left and retired from the foreign service. A State Department official said Sullivan had completed a typical tour.read more

Last week, Moscow said it would shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the main gas pipeline to Germany, and the G7 countries announced plans to put a price cap on Russian oil exports.

The Kremlin said it would stop selling oil to any country that imposed the cap.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that his government had been planning a complete shutdown of gas supplies in December, pledging to take steps to lower prices and link social benefits to inflation.

“Russia is no longer a reliable energy partner,” Scholz told a news conference in Berlin.

In response to this 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.

On Sunday, Finland and Sweden announced plans to give power companies billions of dollars to avoid the threat of bankruptcy amid the crisis.read more

The gaze of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant

The situation around the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine calmed on Sunday, after U.N. inspectors voiced opposition to the loss of outside power on Saturday, Russian authorities said on Sunday.

The last remaining main external power line has been cut, although a backup line continues to feed the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement.read more

It said only one of its six reactors was still operating.

Russian troops occupied the factory on February 2, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops across the border. The 24th has become the focus of the conflict.

Both sides blame the other’s shelling for raising fears of a nuclear catastrophe.

There was no shelling or invasion, official Vladimir Rogov said in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda radio. Russia has twice accused Ukraine of trying to seize the plant in the past two days. Ukraine said Russia itself had attacked the region.

IAEA experts are expected to remain at the plant until at least Monday, Rogoff was quoted as saying.

Last week, an IAEA delegation toured the plant, which is still operated by Ukrainian staff and where some experts remain awaiting the release of the IAEA report.read more

Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of stockpiling heavy weapons in Zaporozhye to prevent Ukraine from firing on it. Russia, which denies having such weapons there, has rejected calls from the international community to demilitarize the region.

On other fronts, the Ukrainian Telegraph channel reported an explosion on the Antonivsky Bridge near the southern city of Kherson, which was occupied by Russian troops.

The bridge has been badly damaged by Ukrainian missiles in the past few weeks, but Russian forces are trying to repair it, or set up pontoons or barges to keep Russian troops supplied on the right bank of the Dnieper.

Ukraine began a counteroffensive in the south last week, particularly in the Kherson region, which was occupied by the Russians early in the conflict.

Reporting by Tom Balmforth in Kyiv; Additional reporting by Michael Shields, Ron Popeski and Reuters; Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Angus MacSwan and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by William Mallard, Philippa Fletcher and Lisa Shumaker

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