President Vladimir V. Putin Threatens to Cut Europe's Remaining Gas, Reaps From Soaring Energy Prices

President Vladimir V. Putin threatened to cut off remaining gas supplies to Europe, posing the question to European countries that have shunned Russian energy: “Do you miss us now?”

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The New York Times

The article frames this as a deliberate provocation aimed at countries pursuing alternatives to Russian imports, and notes the reporting was contributed by Paul Sonne in Berlin and Jeanna Smialek in Brussels.

The New York Times

The Kremlin is described as enjoying “a sudden resurgence of its importance as a global supplier of oil and gas.”

The article links that resurgence to disruptions from the conflict in Iran, which have affected energy production and shipment across the Middle East and sent global energy prices soaring.

The New York Times

Mr. Putin’s remarks were notable for their tone and omissions: he did not mention President Trump or what he had earlier called the “cynical murder” of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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Instead he spoke with bravado on state television and the piece cites his interview with state television reporter Pavel Zarubin, who “chronicles the Russian leader.”

The surge in energy prices is described as a reprieve to Moscow after a difficult year: Russian oil and gas revenues declined by nearly a quarter.

That decline had strained the nation’s wartime economy, and the article presents the price spike as easing that strain and potentially changing Moscow’s calculus toward European markets.

The New York Times

Putin explicitly framed a potential cutoff as a tactical option, saying “Now other markets are opening up, and perhaps it’s more advantageous for us to stop supplying the European market right now.”

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The article links that statement to Europe’s efforts to phase out Russian gas and warns of spikes in prices on the continent if supplies are curtailed.

The New York Times