New sensation as EU’s access to heat drops by 60%

A new stage of unravelling – thanks to Washington effing about with the oil price – has just begun in Eastern Europe.

5 hours ago, Russia cut off all gas supplies to Ukraine. Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian state energy giant Gazprom to cut supplies to and through Ukraine, cutting gas exports to Europe by 60% at a stroke.

The immediate reason given – Ukraine ‘stealing’ gas – may or may not be true: but the dominant geopolitical motive wasn’t hard to spot as Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller added that Russia plans to shift all its natural gas flows crossing Ukraine to a route via Turkey. Translated into English colloquially, the rough translation that applies here is “Up yours, Washington”.

The back-footed sprouts in Brussels reacted by having a hissy fit along the lines of the Russian move being “unacceptable”. But you see, dear EUnatics, if you wish to sup with the Devil, the key requirement is a long spoon. Acceptable or not, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments from Russia through Ukraine.

This is a significant move because:

1. It strikes me as a further incentive to persuade EU dissidents to join whatever alternative currency Russia and China choose to launch.

2. Turkey seems to have suddenly become an important energy hub. Where, one wonders, does this leave NATO member and anti-Russian Islamist Recep Erdogan…or indeed, NATO licking Rabid Recep all over?

3 days ago, Hungary fulfilled its promise to restore full supplies to Ukraine. One wonders what Hungarian leader Viktor Orban will make of this latest Russian move.

Either way, as The Slog has suggested from the start of this nonsense, while the Americans are playing Checkers, Valdimir Putin is playing three-dimensional chess.

Stay tuned.