Day 194: Gas Prices Set to Reach Record Highs, Euro Falls to 20-Year Low; Ukraine Claims Modest Gains

Facts

• Analysts forecast that the price of gas in Europe will reach record highs this week, after the Russian gas giant Gazprom announced that it's indefinitely halting supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline due to technical issues. Reports say Dutch TTF – considered a European benchmark for wholesale gas prices – was up as much as 30% in early trading on Monday.
• Meanwhile, amid heightened concerns Europe is headed for recession, the euro fell below $0.99 for the first time in 20 years in trading on Monday. The news came as protestors in Germany and the Czech Republic held rallies over the weekend calling for their governments to reverse sanctions on Russia and tackle the soaring price of gas.
• Russia blamed European politicians and sanctions for the halting of supplies via Nord Stream 1. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "If the Europeans absolutely absurdly make a decision to refuse to service their equipment ... which they are contractually required to service, this is not Gazprom's fault."
• In the meantime, in his nightly address on Sun., Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy – without providing detail – claimed his country's forces had liberated two towns in the south and one in the Donetsk region. Earlier, Ukraine's armed forces claimed to have retaken the village of Vyoskopillia in the Kherson region. The gains have yet to be independently confirmed.
• Ukrainian officials also reported that three civilians had been killed and three injured in Russian shelling of Donetsk in the last 24 hrs, while pro-Russia separatists in the region said four civilians were injured by Ukrainian shelling in the same period. Ukrainian officials reported that a further 15 people were injured in Russian shelling of the city of Chernihiv. Russian shelling was also reported in the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, but no connected injuries had been reported as of Mon.
• At the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), officials confirmed on Mon. that four of the six inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have now completed their work and have departed. The two remaining inspectors are expected to stay on site on a permanent basis.See Fewer Facts

Sources: Guardian, Irish Times, Pravda, Ukrinform, and Reuters.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Politico. Putin has weaponized European gas supplies in retaliation for the sanctions placed on his country over the Kremlin's illegal invasion of Ukraine. Europe needs to cut its dependency on Russian gas as soon as possible.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Tass. It's an inaccurate fabrication to suggest Russia cut off gas supplies for political reasons. These disruptions are caused by European sanctions which have prevented essential maintenance work from being carried out and have put the pipeline in jeopardy.

Predictions