Nord Stream

According to data from the London Stock Exchange ICE, natural gas prices on the European market crossed the $3,000 mark for 1,000 cubic meters for the first time since the beginning of March.

Russian gas deliveries to Europe through the Nord Stream pipeline will cease from August 31 to September 2 for "maintenance", Russian energy giant Gazprom has said, raising the prospect of energy shortages in Europe.

European gas prices soared to a new record high at the close of trading on Aug. 19 after Gazprom's announcement. 

The price of gas on the spot market in Europe rose to 261 euros per megawatt hour after Gazprom announced that it would temporarily stop the supply of blue fuel through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

The head of Germany's energy regulator said yesterday that the country would almost certainly fail to meet its gas reserve targets in the face of a Russian supply squeeze.    

"I am not counting on our achieving our next reserve goals as quickly as the first," Klaus Mueller, president of the Federal Network Agency, told news website t-online.    

"Liquefied gas from the United States is the best option for Bulgaria". Former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said this on Nova TV. According to him, he negotiated personally with the suppliers, without intermediaries.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday accused Russia of blocking the delivery of a turbine needed to keep gas flowing via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Europe.

The unit was "available and working" Scholz said, standing next to the turbine on a visit to the maker Siemens energy.
"There is no reason why this delivery cannot happen," Scholz said.

With anxiety in Europe escalating over Moscow's stance after the end of the ten-day maintenance period on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on July 21, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called a meeting on the country's energy supply security measures.

In his video address, Zelensky recalled that the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had invited the Canadian representative because of what he considered to be an absolutely unacceptable exclusion from the sanctions regime against Russia, reports Interfax Ukraine.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Explosions and casualties in Southern Ukraine

The European Union is facing a serious natural gas supply crisis, with high prices likely to persist for another two years or so. This opinion was expressed by Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas, who deals with economic issues and the world energy situation.