Quote:
Originally Posted by BloodFetish
The other thing Germany has done is reduce their dependence on Russian gas. I can't remember the details on how much of that was forced and how much was voluntary, but not being under Russia's thumb has likely freed up their ability to help Ukraine.
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I have a family member who is quite high up in the German energy industry. One evening while visiting them this summer in their town we had quite an informative talk on how German's reliance on Russian gas came to be, how it developed during Merkel's reign, the Oligarch's very deep reach into the German energy industry, how post-invasion plans to turn off the tap came to be, how much Germany pivoted to get off, and who exactly was responsible for the Nordstream bombing (yes, it's who you think it was).
To put it bluntly, Germany got a ton of flack over the years for their reliance on Russian gas, and rightfully so. But it's nothing short of a miracle that they were able to pull this off in a calendar year. It pays to be a rich country, that's for sure.