Russia Is Hours Away From Its First Foreign Default in a Century

Reuters

Analysis-Running short of gas: Russia’s pipeline repair has Europe worried

When Russia turns off the gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for maintenance in July, Europe is starting to worry that it won’t turn it back on again. This week, Russia cut gas flows to Europe to 40% of the pipeline’s capacity, blaming delayed equipment repairs and leaving Germany and other European states racing to find alternative supplies to head off the risk of rationing when winter comes. Now, Europe fears President Vladimir Putin will use a scheduled maintenance programme on the pipeline from July 11 to 21 to turn the screws, putting a brake on efforts to refill inventories in retaliation for far-reaching sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.