Putin’s gas games continue: The Russian state-owned company Gazprom wants to reduce the daily gas supply to 20 percent. Putin plays the powerful man who controls Europe’s energy supply. But things are not going well for the Russian president on the battlefield in Ukraine.
All participants at a gas summit in Stuttgart agreed: Putin is unpredictable. The crisis meeting on Monday afternoon ended with a hopeful message: “Putin wants to show us off and divide us. We will not allow that,” said Winfried Kretschmann, Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg. But just a few hours later, Putin made his next gas move: As of Wednesday, only 20 percent of the maximum possible capacity will flow through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. The reason for the renewed reduction in capacity is said to be the repair of another turbine.
However, this is not credible for the Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck: “Putin is playing a perfidious game,” he said. His strategy is transparent: “He is trying to weaken the great support for Ukraine and to drive a wedge in our society. In return, it fuels uncertainty and drives up prices,” says Habeck.
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While Putin is trying to maintain his image of a “powerful” Russian ruler in order to spread fear and terror, the reality on the Ukrainian battlefield is very different. Several analyzes show that Putin is currently struggling in Ukraine. So are his power games in Europe just a red herring?
Technical problems are also holding up Russia: the British secret service reported in the past few days about a Russian repair shop for military vehicles, which is close to the Ukrainian border. At least 300 damaged vehicles, including tanks, are believed to be here. It poses enormous challenges for Moscow to repair and maintain the many damaged combat vehicles. This stalls the Russian offensive.
Strategically, Russia also faces a dilemma: in the east of Ukraine, the Russian troops are on the offensive, while further west they are on the defensive. Russia must now decide whether to increase the number of personnel in the offensive in eastern Donbass or strengthen the West’s defense. According to military experts, personnel shortages do not allow Putin to strengthen both troop units.
Fear of the Himar rocket launchers is spreading even in the Telegram channels of Russian nationalists: they would give Ukraine a significant advantage, thereby forcing the Russian army to make major changes in the battle plans, according to the “Welt” in the Telegram Groups. Himars is the most effective weapon against Russia so far and further limits the possibilities for further offensives, it says here.
Also read: PUSH – Dreaded US weapons system – Putin’s nightmare: why Russia has no chance against the Himar missiles
Serhij Clan from the military administration in Kherson therefore sees Ukraine on the rise: “We can say that a turning point has been reached on the battlefield,” he said in a television interview on Sunday. He believes that the region will be liberated by September. The ISW observes that the counterattacks by Ukraine are now being talked about much more frequently by official bodies.
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