Бабах!)

Великий марш неонацистів у Будапешті, Угорщина, 08.02.2025

Russians will buy gas in Europe. Again

Preamble. I read an interesting article in politico

I quote in full

"The Baltic states are finally severing their energy ties with Russia. The Soviet-era disconnection was accompanied by a campaign of intimidation - but it is Moscow that may find itself in a precarious position.

Europe's Baltic states have disconnected from the Russian grid for the first time in history, ending a decades-long unstable energy partnership with Moscow.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will connect to the EU power grid on Sunday, some 20 years after joining the bloc and cementing their westward trajectory. The Soviet grid will still cover Russia and Belarus.
The move came amid a barrage of disinformation that local leaders said was intended to sow fear of repercussions.

A few days before the blackout, leaflets printed in Russian appeared in apartment buildings across the region, warning that "there will be no electricity" and urging residents to buy candles. In fact, the Baltic states have not bought electricity from Russia or Belarus in recent years, meaning that no blackouts or price increases are expected.
"The Russians have been threatening our electricity supply for years," said Ingrida Šimonite, who was Lithuania's prime minister until December and led preparations for the switchover. "It was the last, sad link to our past, which was still partly controlled by people from Moscow."

The three countries, which were occupied by Soviet troops as part of a pact with Nazi Germany in 1940 and gained independence in the 1990s, will operate in isolation for a day before synchronising with the European grid. This will allow them to import electricity from EU countries via Poland if necessary.

EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said the switch would "strengthen security of supply" for the entire 27-nation bloc.
"This is a strong signal that the EU stands together," he said on the eve of the switch. "The EU has invested a significant amount of money in this project - more than €1.2 billion. It is projects like this that make our Energy Union stronger."
A growing concern in the Baltic Sea region as it enters a new era is the potential sabotage of submarine power cables running nearby. In the last few months alone, several oil tankers have dragged their anchors through these cables, raising fears that Russia may be trying to disrupt the process.

"Since February of this year, we have seen a different approach from the Russian special services," said Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre, a government agency that deals with emergency management and resilience building. "Instead of so-called 'soft measures', such as disinformation or cyber, they have moved to more active actions."

According to Mr Vitkauskas, allowing Russian-linked vessels unfettered access to the Baltic Sea threatens critical energy infrastructure.
He suggested "concentrating the passage in the sea where these ships can cross" to make it "easier for us to control it." Gravel or other materials could reinforce submarine cables in the area.

"The grid operators are confident that they have done everything necessary to make this project work without problems, even though there are some problems with the Baltic Sea infrastructure," said Marek Kohv, a former Estonian military officer who now heads research at the International Centre for Defence and Security in Tallinn. "However, Russian disinformation is trying to play on people's fears, and some ordinary citizens are concerned that they will have to stock up on water and canned food," he added. "In fact, the real danger is this information operation, not the synchronisation with the European grid."

Experts say that Russia's own exclave of Kaliningrad - an area slightly larger than Montenegro, sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic Sea coast - may actually face the most serious challenges.

And the cream is a bit of reality for Russians.
👇