Russia’s decision shut off gas to Poland and Bulgaria caused a strong reaction in the German media, it is actively commented on by both the national and regional press.
Tagesspiegel: “The Russian bear is weaker than the West believed”
Thus, the Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel regards the incident as “an act of desperation by Putin,” whose power “is beginning to crumble.” “When in early March he threatened Europe with a shutdown of gas, he still had great potential for blackmail. He then demonstrated to Germany and its neighbors what a dangerous dependence they had brought themselves to for many years. Freeze and lose thousands of jobs, for example, in the chemical industry “The price of solidarity with Ukraine still seemed too high, and the demand for a boycott of Russian gas was quickly rejected,” the newspaper recalls.
Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, Malnov compressor station on the German-Polish border
But now the situation has changed, the winter is over, Bulgaria and Poland are provided with gas for the coming months, and Europe is quickly adjusting to life without Russian energy carriers. The author of the commentary recommends that Europeans “not overestimate the strength of the Russian bear and not underestimate their own strength.”
“It is quite possible that the measures against Bulgaria and Poland are intended to be a signal to Germany. And that Gazprom will soon test Berlin’s reaction to the cut in supplies. It would still be a very strong blow to the economy, but it is already much better prepared today. And Putin much more urgently in need of income than then.In the 63 days since the beginning of the war, the imaginary giant Russia has shriveled. He is much weaker than the West thought and, apparently, Putin himself,” the Tagesspiegel newspaper emphasizes.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “Germany is more flexible”
The national newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung comes to a similar conclusion. In a comment under the heading “Germany’s signal”, she writes that the cessation of Russian gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria “should be taken mainly as a warning and as a test – for Europe and especially for Germany. ” In this situation, the FRG, according to the author, should to have more confidence in one’s own strength: that would be the right answer to Moscow.
The French company Total has already decided not to supply the Leuna refinery with oil from Russia anymore.
“Germany is actually much better and much more flexible than some of its political and economic elite think. If at first it seemed that it would be possible to achieve independence from Russian oil only by the end of the year, now it has been possible to significantly reduce this dependence in a short time. Both politicians and business should be commended for this,” emphasizes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
“Unfortunately, it will not be possible to achieve independence from Russian gas so quickly,” the newspaper warns, “but now business is already distributing much less catastrophic scenarios in the event that Russian supplies are cut off, although cutting off gas would undoubtedly mean a serious test.
Handelsblatt: “Better short-term shock than Putin’s victory”
No one argues with the fact that the cessation of Russian gas supplies would result in great economic damage for Germany, the German business newspaper Handelsblatt also notes. At the same time, she criticizes the nature of the public discussion about a possible boycott of supplies from Russia.
Russian tanks in Ukrainian Mariupol
“Underestimating the consequences would be as frivolous as suggesting that Putin, for his own interests, will not turn off the gas valve. However, this economic discussion looks against the backdrop of the historical scope of what is happening and Russian war crimes some pettysometimes even narcissistic,” the newspaper believes.
“After all, the question is whether the short-term shock of a sudden shutdown of gas is still more innocuous than the long-term consequences of the success of Putin’s imperial policies. His victory, whatever it looks like, would send a signal to autocrats around the world: wage wars of conquest became profitable again. Then the decades of relative peace after the Second World War would have ended irrevocably,” warns the economic newspaper Handelsblatt.
Stuttgarter Zeitung: “The master of the Kremlin is playing his last cards”
The newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung, published in Stuttgart, the capital of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, where a large number of industrial enterprises are concentrated, comes to the following conclusions:
“Putin has taken on Poland and Bulgaria, but he is targeting Germany, the largest national economy on the continent. With serious warnings, the German economy will fall into recession without Russian gas supplies. Putin makes it clear that the cessation of supplies is possible at any time, including in Germany. The master of the Kremlin is playing the last cards he has left. But he is unlikely to succeed,” says the Stuttgarter Zeitung.
See also:
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
The roof of a building in Kharkiv damaged by Russian shelling. Also in the photo chronicle of the war in Ukraine on April 27: Irpen and Guernica, a funeral in the village of Ozera, the president brought an iPad, “You don’t kill your brother and don’t rape your sister!”, wolves near the Russian embassy, Dynamo match in Dortmund, five minutes to 12. ATTENTION! Some of the photographs contain scenes of gore, violence and death.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
A Ukrainian soldier helps an elderly resident of a multi-storey building in Kharkiv. According to regional authorities, as a result of shelling in the Kharkiv region on April 26, three civilians were killed and seven more people were injured.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
The destroyed bridge in Irpen, through which the refugees were evacuated, should become part of the memorial in memory of the war in Ukraine. Mexican artist Roberto Marquez is working in Irpin on a painting inspired by Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. April 26 marked another anniversary of the bombing of this Spanish city in 1937.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
The funeral of a 47-year-old resident of the village of Ozera near the town of Bucha in the Kyiv region. Nikolai Moroz was taken away by the Russian military in an unknown direction in mid-March. After some time, the body was found fifteen kilometers from the village.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
48-year-old resident of the village of Lakes Svetlana Pryimachenko, the wife of the murdered Nikolai Moroz, accepts condolences from her neighbor, 52-year-old Tatiana Boyko.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
Ukrainian specialists are restoring a damaged power line near Borodyanka in the Kyiv region. According to the country’s authorities, as of mid-April, about 30 percent of the infrastructure in Ukraine has already been destroyed. The restoration will require approximately US$100 billion.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
Old “Volga” under a flowering tree in the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The accident at this nuclear power plant occurred on April 26, 1986. The photo was taken on April 26 this year.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
Photo of the Russian TASS agency from Mariupol, almost completely destroyed after two months of war and siege. This is what the streets look like now. The defenders of the city continue to hold the territory of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. DW monitors the development of events every day and constantly updates the information in the headings “News” and “Ukraine”.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
Ilya Matvienko lost his parents in Mariupol and was taken to the territory not controlled by Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities managed to return this boy and another child to their relatives. Now he is in a children’s hospital in Kyiv, which Volodymyr Zelensky visited on April 26. As you can see, the president did not come empty-handed – he brought an iPad for his birthday. Grandma will now take care of Ilya.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
Doctors at a hospital in Kramatorsk assist 40-year-old Vladimir Nikiforov, who was injured as a result of the shelling of the city of Barvenkovo in the Izyum district of the Kharkiv region.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
Another shot from Kramatorsk. 62-year-old Tamara Oleinik in the ward after surgery. The woman was wounded during the shelling of the village of Shandrigolovo, Limansky district, Donetsk region.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
A woman inspects the ruins of a house in the city of Liman in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine. According to local residents, an eight-year-old girl died here.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
12-year-old Elizaveta, along with other family members and a cat, is in a shelter in the city of Liman in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, where the situation escalated a few days ago due to attempts by Russian troops to launch an offensive in this region.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
Kharkiv metro continues to be a kind of temporary home and refuge for many residents of this city. Almost every day, news agencies publish footage taken here at various stations. Some already show handwritten requests not to take pictures, but not in this picture. People are tired, people want peace.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
A resident of the Lugansk region in the evacuation train in the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the total number of people forced to flee their homes in Ukraine has already reached 12.9 million.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko speaks to reporters during the dismantling of two bronze figures of the Friendship of Peoples monument depicting Ukrainian and Russian workers. “You don’t kill your brother and you don’t rape your sister!” – so later commented on the decision to demolish Wladimir Klitschko, the mayor’s brother, on Instagram: “You don’t kill your brother. You don’t rape your sister …”.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
Flags of Ukraine and the United States at the American military base “Ramstein” in Germany. On April 26, an international meeting was held here, in which, at the invitation of the Pentagon, the defense ministers of four dozen states participated. As a result, it was a pleasant decision to create a contact group for better coordination of efforts to increase the defense capability of Ukraine. The group will meet monthly.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
German artist Rainer Opolka created an installation of several dozen two-meter attacking wolves a few years ago – as a protest against hate speech, the spread of xenophobia and the increase in violence. This week, the installation was temporarily installed near the Russian embassy in Berlin.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
Dynamo Kyiv forward Vladislav Vanat during a charity friendly match of this club at the Borussia Dortmund stadium on April 26. The meeting took place as part of the “Match for Peace! Stop the War!” tour. As a result, 400 thousand euros were collected to help Ukrainians suffering from the war.
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War in Ukraine – 27.04.2022
A clock stopped at five minutes to twelve with arrows in the colors of the national flag of Ukraine in Schwarz Pumpe, a district of the German city of Spremberg.
Author: Nikolay Permyakov
