Quote:
Originally Posted by activeStick
I thought Nordstream 2 would have potentially allowed Russia to bypass Poland and Ukraine in delivery of gas to Europe?
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Yes, it would. It would give Russia leverage with Germany while taking away power from Poland and Ukraine. The pipeline is more valuable to them intact than it is destroyed. If they wanted to show they could hit Western infrastructure in NATO territory, there were probably other ways to do it without cutting off their nose to spite their face. The only way it makes sense for them to do this is if they assume Germany is going to rush ahead with repairs anyway, which is plausible. It would certainly call their bluff for weening off Russian gas.
Honestly, there are compelling reasons for why either side would do this, and good reasons for why they wouldn't. I don't disagree with the points in the Twitter thread, but I don't think any of them point to anything other than no one really knowing. She is right though that whatever happened, we will likely not know. If it is an issue of alliance management, it will get buried for the sake of not looking completely united and organized. The truth is, you can look at almost any major war in history where there are alliances where members have different interests, and things like this can happen.
Whatever the reasons, I think the act is overall good for Ukraine, so if it was Russia, then thanks I guess. Your craziness paid off this time. Germany has no safety net now and has to go all in on seeing Russia defeated.