Zelensky: Russia is preparing to deal a strong blow to the Europeans and we must prepare for the winter energy crisis

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Europeans to expect a difficult winter as Russia’s attack on his country led to Moscow slashing oil and gas exports, as continental leaders sought on Sunday to mitigate the effects of rising energy prices.

Zelensky made the statement on Saturday evening, after Moscow shut down a major pipeline supplying Russian gas to the continent.

“Russia is preparing to deal a heavy blow to all Europeans in the field of energy this winter,” he said in his daily video address.

Moscow attributed the reason for the disruption of energy supplies to Western sanctions imposed on it due to the invasion of Ukraine and technical issues.

European countries, which have provided diplomatic and military support to the Ukrainian government, accuse Russia of using energy supplies as a weapon.

Analysts say supply shortages and the rising cost of living with the approach of winter threaten to erode Western support for Kiev as governments try to deal with an angry population.

On the other hand, the US embassy in Moscow said that John Sullivan, the US ambassador to Russia since he was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2019, has left his post and will retire from his diplomatic duties.

A State Department official said Sullivan has worked exemplary throughout his service.

Moscow said last week it would keep the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, its main gas supply to Germany closed.

The G7 countries announced a plan to cap the prices of Russian oil exports.

The Kremlin has said it will stop selling oil to any country that sets a price cap.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that his government was planning a complete halt in gas deliveries in December, but pledged to cut prices and link social benefits to inflation.

“Russia is no longer a reliable partner in the energy field,” Scholz said at a press conference in Berlin.

In response to this statement, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev described Germany as an “unfriendly country” and an enemy of Russia”.

In other words, I have declared a hybrid war on Russia,” he said.

On Sunday, Finland and Sweden announced plans to provide billions of dollars to energy companies to avoid the risk of bankruptcy at a time of crisis.

In another related topic, Russian authorities said the situation around the Zaporozhye plant, which is under their control in southern Ukraine, was calm on Sunday after inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency said external energy supplies had again been cut off.

The agency said in a statement that the last major external power line was disrupted, although a backup line continued to supply the network with electricity.

It added that only one of the six reactors at the nuclear plant was still operating.

Russian forces took control of the station shortly after they invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Zaporizhia became a focal point of the conflict.

Both sides accused each other of bombing the area around the plant, raising fears of a possible nuclear disaster.

Speaking to Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda, official Vladimir Rogov said there were no shelling or incursions.

Russia has accused Ukraine twice in the past two days of trying to seize the station.

Ukraine said Russia attacked the area.

Rogov was quoted as saying that agency experts are expected to continue working at the station until at least Monday.

Last week, a mission from the Atomic Energy Agency toured the plant, which is still run by Ukrainians, and some experts stayed there awaiting a report from the agency.

Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of stockpiling heavy weapons at the site so that Ukraine would not bomb it.

Russia, which denies the existence of such weapons there, has refrained from heeding international calls for the transfer of troops and demilitarization of the region.

On other battlefronts, Ukrainian accounts on the Telegram application reported explosions at the Antonevsky Bridge near the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.

The bridge was badly damaged by Ukrainian missiles over the past weeks, but Russian forces were trying to repair it, establish a floating crossing or use boats to deliver supplies to Russian units on the right bank of the Dnipro River.

Ukraine launched a counter-offensive last week targeting the south, especially the Kherson region, which the Russians seized at the start of the war.