Disinfo: Attempts to find alternatives to Russian gas result in increased energy prices

Summary

The most reliable and cheapest gas supplies are carried out through pipelines from Russia. The most reliable way to protect against price fluctuations on the gas market is to sign a long-term, fixed-price gas supply contract with Gazprom.

All the “acrobatics” connected to finding alternatives to direct Russian energy supplies, such as LNG terminals, reverse gas flows and shale gas exploration, leads to the situation in which energy prices only increase.

Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation related to the Russian gas policy towards Europe. This narrative promotes a traditional pro-Kremlin message that Gazprom is the only reliable source of gas for Europe and that European countries should stop their policy of energy diversification because it is “unprofitable”.

During recent decades, Russia has used its energy resources on multiple occasions as a weapon against other countries, attempting to coerce them into following a pro-Kremlin line.

The diversification of energy supplies is one of the cornerstones of the EU's energy policy – it helps to strengthen European energy security, prevent monopolisation of the energy market and to introduce more competition to the energy market.

In August-September 2021, the European market faced an unprecedented spike in gas prices. One of the reasons for this situation is, according to the experts, a visible reduction in Russian gas supplies to Europe. For example, the gas supply via the Yamal-Europe pipeline reduced by more than 50%. In this situation, experts accuse Russia of weaponising gas supplies in order to exert pressure on the EU. In September 2021, a group of European Parliament members appealed for an investigation into the role of Gazprom in the massive increase in gas prices in Europe. This situation is perceived as Russian pressure on the EU to accelerate launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

See more cases concerning energy in Europe, including Europe catastrophically lacks gas, the US wants to completely capture the European gas market and the US would like to resell Russian gas to Europe.

Go to search

publication/media

pl.rubaltic.ru (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 262
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 03/10/2021
  • Article language(s) Polish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, EU
  • Keywords: gas, Energy, Diplomacy with Russia, Economic difficulties
see more

Disinfo: Ukraine will fall into pieces without gas transit fees

This [the stop of Russian gas transit] is the beginning of the end of the Ukrainian economy, and consequently, [means] the disintegration of the country.

Oct 02, 2021
Disproof

The disinformation claim above is part of a narrative in connection with the Kremlin's efforts to stop transiting Russian gas to Europe through Ukrainian pipelines, bypassing Ukraine as a transit country.

On 1 October 2021, the Ukrainian government called on the United States and Germany to impose sanctions on Russia's Gazprom, which it accused of using energy as a weapon after the Russian energy company implemented a transit deal with Hungary that deprives Kyiv of gas supplies.

Disinfo: People who say that RT is not independent from the Kremlin are wrong and should be condemned by justice

Disqualifying the work of RT's journalists is certainly not trivial. You cannot say of a journalist who works, for example, for French Television or Canal+ that he is not a journalist, that he is a disinformer and that he spreads propaganda. If you say so, you are sanctioned by justice.

According to Nicolas Tenzer, who is being prosecuted by RT, RT France is not comparable to other state-funded media, such as France 24 or the BBC, in particular because there is ... "absolute control of the editorial line" from the Kremlin. A totally gratuitous assertion, that its author does not bother to demonstrate, without even mentioning any evidence, even the slightest tangible element.

The journalists who work for RT are similar to French journalists who have a French press card and who have always said, although they had worked in many media previously, that there had never been any pressure from management on their editorial choices.

Oct 02, 2021
Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation claiming that RT (or Russia Today) is an independent media persecuted by the elite because it defends the interests of the people. This narrative is a good example of whataboutism at play.

RT is controlled and financed by the Russian state, it is included in an official list of core organisations of strategic importance for Russia. In 2019, the UK's independent media watchdog, Ofcom fined RT for serious failures to comply with broadcasting rules, namely for the news to be presented with due impartiality. In 2017, French President Macron publicly called out RT and Sputnik as spreading propaganda and misleading information. In September 2021, YouTube deleted RT’s German channels over Covid misinformation.

Disinfo: The West will continue to put pressure on Belarus and attempt to destabilise the country

Today, the US, like the EU, continues to allocate multimillion sums to support the opposition and also continues to pursue a policy directed against both Belarus and Russia.

There is no doubt that neither the United States with its satellites, nor the European Union, nor other Western countries will cease putting pressure on Belarus in the foreseeable future. It will happen in all directions: from information and ideological influence through the media and social networks to direct attempts to destabilise the situation in the Republic.

Oct 02, 2021
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the belligerent West plotting against Belarus (as well as Russia), trying to destabilise and destroy the country.

The claims that the West is involved in unfriendly actions towards Belarus or that it has some aggressive geopolitical plans or contempt for the sovereignty of this country are unfounded. The West continues to support the Belarusian people, respects the principles of international law and does not intervene in the domestic affairs of any country.