[joshuajill]

Fair call Russia might have done it for those and other reasons.

However

1) Was there any gas flowing at all? Sure anything can cause speculation.

2) This also makes it a convenient timing for the western allies to do it, including Norway. Germany is way too complacent with Russian for US liking.

3) Such more so the US in terms of operatives in Europe and Russia. Who says the US is sensitive to gas prices in Europe?

Also Biden said they would do it. And at this point capabilities are not laking in either side.

But no we're not going to know for sure for a while.

[toss1]

>>Who says the US is sensitive to gas prices in Europe?

The US was already somewhat sensitive to global NatGas prices even before they recently permitted exports. Since we started permitting exports of NatGas, and are now actively sending all we physically can to support EU, it definitely affects both heating and electrical costs in the US, and the economy and political climate is very sensitive to those inputs.

[joshuajill]

Wonder if that makes sense given that Europe has just become dependent on US gas, and US being the main proponent of sanctions.

[toss1]

Yes, the US is working to show strong leadership for sanctions, since the current administration fully understands the global threats to democracy posed by Russia, China, and authoritarian movements inside democracies (e.g., Hungary).

The Great Experiment — the idea that exchange and trade would bring democracy to authoritarian states — has failed so far and only empowered authoritarian states (in the medium term, at least). Authoritarian states simply found ways to route around it, and see democracy as the key threat to their existence. for example, the very existence of a free and democratic Ukraine threatens Putin's administration because the Russian people can see that one of the former USSR states being free is doing much better - raises dissatsfaction.

On the gas situation, the US cannot begin to supply enough to Europe as there are not enough ships and terminals in the world. Dependence on US gas has only slightly increased, and EU NatGas imports aren't a significant contributor to US GDP, but ARE a significant contributor to inflation. This is the last thing the US administration needs right now, and it would also be seen as a massive escalation, which the US is obviously avoiding.

Increased uncertainty today benefits only one party in the world, and that is the Russian leader.

[helij]

QUOTE: "the very existence of a free and democratic Ukraine threatens Putin's administration because the Russian people can see that one of the former USSR states being free is doing much better - raises dissatsfaction"

This is a myth. Go here[0] and choose any year you want in the URL. Russia was doing much much better than Ukraine at pretty much any point in the last 15 years in terms of GDP per capita.

I mean, even Belarus was doing better.

[0] https://countryeconomy.com/gdp?year=2021

[toss1]

They why do Russian troops paint on the walls of Ukranian houses they trash "Who allowed you to live so well?" and steal anything they can, from washing machines to toilets. ?