Polish Foreign Minister Criticized for Celebrating Gas Cutoff
Radoslaw Sikorski faced mockery on social media for celebrating the cessation of Russian gas shipments to the EU through Ukraine. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has faced backlash online for referring to Ukraine's cessation of Russian gas imports as a "victory."
Sikorski praised Ukraine's decision to stop the flow of Russian gas to the EU, framing it as a triumph for the West, even as the move has resulted in increased energy prices, shortages, and the complete shutdown of heating in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region.
The halt in gas transit through Ukraine occurred early Wednesday when Kiev opted not to extend an agreement that allowed it to collect transit fees for its pipeline network. The gas previously flowed through Ukraine to numerous countries, including Moldova, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Italy.
In his post on X, Sikorski wrote, “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin spent billions building Nordstream to circumvent Ukraine and blackmail Eastern Europe with the threat of cutting off gas supplies,” alluding to two pipelines that linked Russia and Germany before being damaged in a sabotage act in 2022. He continued, “Today Ukraine cut off his ability to export gas direct to the EU,” labeling the development as "another victory after the enlargement of NATO by Finland and Sweden."
Ukraine's decision has driven EU gas prices up to €50 per megawatt hour, a level not seen since October 2023. Slovakia, which heavily depended on Russian gas imports via Ukraine, will experience significant impacts, as will EU candidate Moldova, which used Russian gas for a substantial portion of its electricity generation.
In response to Sikorski’s remarks, journalist Thomas Fazi suggested he should be “locked up in a mental institution” for “celebrating cutting Europe off gas in the middle of winter.” Another commenter expressed, “Russia was clearly trying to blackmail Europe by supplying even more gas to them. Thankfully, Ukraine heroically ‘saved’ Europe by cutting off the gas,” adding that “the absurdity of this logic is mind-blowing.” Another comment noted, “People like Sikorski who want to destroy European economies by cutting them off from global resources and markets should not be allowed to live in Europe. Go to the USA where your loyalties lie.”
Sikorski faced similar mockery in 2022 when he posted, and later deleted, a picture of the Nord Stream blast site with the message: “Thank you, USA.” While German investigators have suggested that Ukrainian saboteurs were responsible for the pipelines' destruction, American journalist Seymour Hersh has claimed involvement from the CIA and US Navy. The head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, attributed the incident to “professional saboteurs from the Anglo-American security services," indicating the US and UK.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
Sikorski praised Ukraine's decision to stop the flow of Russian gas to the EU, framing it as a triumph for the West, even as the move has resulted in increased energy prices, shortages, and the complete shutdown of heating in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region.
The halt in gas transit through Ukraine occurred early Wednesday when Kiev opted not to extend an agreement that allowed it to collect transit fees for its pipeline network. The gas previously flowed through Ukraine to numerous countries, including Moldova, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Italy.
In his post on X, Sikorski wrote, “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin spent billions building Nordstream to circumvent Ukraine and blackmail Eastern Europe with the threat of cutting off gas supplies,” alluding to two pipelines that linked Russia and Germany before being damaged in a sabotage act in 2022. He continued, “Today Ukraine cut off his ability to export gas direct to the EU,” labeling the development as "another victory after the enlargement of NATO by Finland and Sweden."
Ukraine's decision has driven EU gas prices up to €50 per megawatt hour, a level not seen since October 2023. Slovakia, which heavily depended on Russian gas imports via Ukraine, will experience significant impacts, as will EU candidate Moldova, which used Russian gas for a substantial portion of its electricity generation.
In response to Sikorski’s remarks, journalist Thomas Fazi suggested he should be “locked up in a mental institution” for “celebrating cutting Europe off gas in the middle of winter.” Another commenter expressed, “Russia was clearly trying to blackmail Europe by supplying even more gas to them. Thankfully, Ukraine heroically ‘saved’ Europe by cutting off the gas,” adding that “the absurdity of this logic is mind-blowing.” Another comment noted, “People like Sikorski who want to destroy European economies by cutting them off from global resources and markets should not be allowed to live in Europe. Go to the USA where your loyalties lie.”
Sikorski faced similar mockery in 2022 when he posted, and later deleted, a picture of the Nord Stream blast site with the message: “Thank you, USA.” While German investigators have suggested that Ukrainian saboteurs were responsible for the pipelines' destruction, American journalist Seymour Hersh has claimed involvement from the CIA and US Navy. The head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, attributed the incident to “professional saboteurs from the Anglo-American security services," indicating the US and UK.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
