Gas pipeline in Russia
As long as Ukraine allows Russia to transship oil and gas, Moscow can still use this method to circumvent EU policy measures and sanctions mechanisms. Russia must pay gas and oil transit fees to Ukraine but receives income from oil and gas exports. It can be seen that Ukraine is determined to destroy all of Russia’s income from oil and gas exports.
Moscow’s strategy is to create benefits in losses. Russia finds another way to continue supplying gas to Slovakia, an EU and NATO member, thereby creating both internal division within the West and division between the EU and NATO with Ukraine. Next, Russia announced that it would stop supplying gas to Moldova on the grounds that Moldova had not paid off its debt and could no longer continue to transit gas through Ukraine.
In essence, Russia pushed Moldova into a situation where it had to increase direct pressure on Kyiv so that Russian gas could continue to be transited through Ukraine, turning the problem between Russia and Moldova into a problem between Moldova and Ukraine. Russia’s aim at Moldova is also at the same time as the EU and NATO, because these two alliances have recently tried every way to draw Moldova into their sphere of influence, not letting Moldova tilt towards Russia.
This policy measure by the EU and NATO did not achieve the expected results, because Russia still found ways to gain benefits in many different aspects from the damage it suffered. That’s also because the EU and NATO are devoted to Ukraine, but this country makes the two alliances very awkward internally and in relations with allies.
