Many have recently demanded that Europe stop its imports of Russian gas, as they allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to strangle Ukraine. But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the energy supply from Russia essential. “Europe’s supply of energy for heat generation, mobility, power supply and industry cannot be secured in any other way at the moment,” Scholz said on March 7. Energy supply is therefore “of essential importance for the provision of public services and the daily lives of our citizens. Consciously, Europe has exempted energy supplies from Russia from sanctions. All our steps are designed to hit Russia sensitively and to be sustainable over the long term.”

In other words, the crippling sanctions that could have immediately crippled Russia’s advances cannot be implemented. Millions of Ukrainians suffer because of it; thousands have already died.

In the early days of the Ukraine invasion, Germany was accused of preventing serious sanctions such as cutting Russia off from swift, the main payment method used by businesses around the world. Last week Germany approved the exclusion of certain Russian banks. However, the banks involved with Russia’s gas exports are exempt from the sanctions.

Europe did have other options that would have made it less dependent on Russia. Faz.net explained that European gas production has been falling for years as nations like the Netherlands cut back production as a step against climate change. The European Union was able to supply just under a quarter of its consumption from its own gas sources in 2015, but only 9 percent last year. The United States has cut domestic oil and gas production for similar reasons under the Biden administration. Ukraine, one might say, is the ancillary victim of the fight against “climate change.”

The Trump administration offered Europe liquefied natural gas (lng) as an alternative, which it rejected, claiming it was too expensive. Instead Europe trusted Putin. Now the average consumer pays for this decision at the gas station, and Ukrainians pay for it with their lives.

Former United States President Donald Trump publicly rebuked Germany’s decision to buy a massive amount of gas from Russia. “I think it’s very sad,” he said, “when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia, where you’re supposed to be guarding against Russia, and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia.”

Indeed, Germany paid Europe’s historic bully in order to save a few euros. In turn, Germany has now pledged to spend billions on its own defense to protect itself against that same bully.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned in 2018 that Germany’s dependence on Russian gas is not an accident. “In recent years, as gas reserves in the North Sea have declined, European nations have grown more and more dependent on Russia for their gas supplies,” Mr. Flurry noted. “Russia has taken advantage of this situation several times by ‘weaponizing’ its energy, cutting gas supplies when it wants to pressure European states for political or economic reasons.”

Before the Ukraine invasion, Russian gas suppliers allowed European reserves to run low, making it impossible for European nations to cut off Russian gas imports. At the same time, Russian troops amassed on Ukraine’s borders. But Europe ignored all the warning signs.

For years, Europe has known of its dependence on Russian gas and what it meant for Eastern Europe. Even after Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula, Europe continued to pursue its controversial Nord Stream 2 project with Russia. The signs of a Russian invasion were there all along. Mr. Flurry explained in his 2018 article:

Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 are key components of Putin’s plan to tighten his grip on nations in Eastern Europe that used to be part of the Soviet Empire. Since these pipelines travel directly from Russia to Germany, they enable Putin to shut off gas supplies to nations in Eastern Europe—Ukraine, Poland—and the Baltic nations while keeping supplies flowing to Germany.

This places a sharp edge on Putin’s energy weapon! To the former Soviet nations that he is determined to bring back under Russia’s power, he can say: Either obey Russia, or suffer cold winters with no gas to heat your homes.

This is why Eastern Europe tried to prevent Russia and Germany from building the first Nord Stream pipeline. They knew it would give Russia more leverage against them. But Moscow and Berlin built it anyway. Now this second phase will boost that leverage considerably!

The flow of Russian gas through Nord Stream 2 has now been temporarily postponed. But Nord Stream 1 already provides Germany with the gas it needs to heat its homes. The second pipeline would have allowed it to distribute gas to other European nations.

Even Germany’s recent plans suggesting less dependence on Russian gas appear to be halfhearted. Focus noted on March 4: “The strategic purchase of liquefied gas for €1.5 billion is intended to make Germany less dependent on Russian supplies. But no one knows where the replacement gas will come from. The punchline: One of the suppliers could be Russia, of all places.”

When Ukraine demanded defense weapons prior to the invasion, Germany approved the delivery of a mere 5,000 helmets. Germany has since approved more weapons for Ukraine. In addition to 1,000 antitank missiles and 500 Stinger missiles, Germany also wanted to send 2,700 Strela missiles. This became another scandal, when it was revealed that a large number of the Strela missiles in the Bundeswehr’s stocks were not only completely obsolete but also no longer usable, as Spiegel Online reported. The delivery, therefore, has been delayed.

Germany’s slow, halfhearted support has been part of the reason why Russia’s invasion of Ukraine occurred. The question arises: Has Germany purposely lingered so long so Russia’s invasion would be irreversible?

This cooperation between Germany and Russia has already proved fatal, but we likely haven’t seen the end of it yet. “History shows that in between wars, Germany and Russia often work together,” Mr. Flurry noted. “Most infamously, just before World War ii, the two made a deal in which Adolf Hitler’s Germany basically said to Joseph Stalin’s Russia: Stay out of it, Russia, and we will take over Europe. Then the two of us can split up Poland and other countries between ourselves.”

The border lines have since shifted. But we can clearly see core European nations rallying around Germany in the recent crisis, while Belarus and Ukraine fall into Russia’s hands with Germany’s apparent approval. And this is just the beginning of where this cooperation is leading. In the end, the main victim of this partnership will be America. To understand, read Mr. Flurry’s article “Germany and Russia’s Secret War Against America.”