Zelenskyy Warns Europe to Brame for Winter as Russian Gas Cuts Deepen Energy Crisis

On Saturday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used his daily video address to tell Europeans what he thought was coming. "Russia is preparing a decisive energy blow on all Europeans for this winter," he said. He spoke after Moscow shut down a main pipeline that carries Russian gas to the continent, and as European leaders worked on Sunday to soften the effect of high energy prices.

The week before, Moscow had said Nord Stream 1, its main gas channel to Germany, would stay closed. Russia points to Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, and to technical problems, as the reasons for the disruptions. European countries that have backed Kyiv with diplomatic and military support accuse Moscow of weaponizing energy supplies. In the same week, the G7 countries announced a planned price cap on Russian oil exports, and the Kremlin answered that it would stop selling oil to any country that put the cap into effect.

In Berlin on Sunday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a news conference that his government had been planning for a complete halt in gas deliveries in December. He promised measures to lower prices and to tie social benefits to inflation. "Russia is no longer a reliable energy partner," he said. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev answered by calling Germany "an unfriendly country" and an enemy of Russia, adding that it had in effect declared a hybrid war on Russia.

Elsewhere in northern Europe, Finland and Sweden announced plans on Sunday to offer billions of dollars to power companies, aiming to head off the threat of insolvency during the crisis. Some analysts say the shortages and the surge in living costs as winter nears could wear down Western support for Kyiv, as governments try to manage disgruntled populations.

The energy question also reached into Ukraine itself. The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday that the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in the south had lost its last remaining main external power line. A reserve line was still supplying electricity to the grid, and only one of the plant's six reactors remained in operation. Russian troops seized the plant shortly after President Vladimir Putin sent his army over the border on Feb. 24, and it has become a focal point of the war.

Both sides blame each other for shelling that has raised fears of a nuclear disaster. Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official, told Komsomolskaya Pravda radio on Sunday that there had been no shelling or incursions and that the situation was calm. Russia has twice accused Ukraine in the past two days of trying to capture the plant, while Ukraine says Russia attacked the area itself. Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of storing heavy weapons at the site to discourage Ukrainian fire; Russia denies it and has resisted calls to demilitarize the area. An IAEA mission toured the plant, still run by Ukrainian staff, last week, and some experts stayed pending a report. Rogov was quoted as saying they would work there until at least Monday.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian Telegram channels reported explosions at the Antonivsky bridge near Kherson, a southern city held by Russian forces. Ukrainian missiles have badly damaged the bridge in recent weeks, and Russian troops have been trying to repair it or to set up a pontoon crossing or barges to keep supplying units on the right bank of the Dnipro River. Ukraine began a counteroffensive last week aimed at the south, particularly the Kherson region, which Russia seized early in the war.

Separately, the U.S. embassy in Moscow said Ambassador John Sullivan, appointed by Donald Trump in 2019, had left his post and was retiring from the diplomatic service. A State Department official said he had served a typical tour length. What to watch next: whether Germany's December planning turns into an actual halt, and whether European governments can hold public patience through the winter.