OP-ED

Aura Sabadus: Europe’s energy crisis highlights dangers of reliance on Russia

Published Oct. 11, 2021. Updated Oct. 11 at 3:16 am

A compressor station of Ukraine's Naftogaz national oil and gas company near the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Ukraine has completed the process of separating its gas production company from its gas distribution network. Naftogaz and the transmission system operator will now be separate entities working independently of one another. Unbundling the gas system was a long-await reform critical to Ukraine’s greater integration with the European Union.

Photo by AFP

Europe is currently in the grip of an unfolding energy crisis that is sparking questions over the role of Vladimir Putin’s Russia in exploiting rising demand, low supply, and geopolitical unpredictability. It is difficult to exaggerate the gravity of the present situation. Natural gas prices have soared by 600% so far this year. This extreme market volatility is hitting key economic areas across Europe, from fertilizer plants to the food industry and health sector.