That means reducing the costs of a possible major Russian operation against Ukraine. Let us recall that most of Russia's gas transit to the west of Europe runs through the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine no longer buys Russian gas itself, but of course, it could physically block this transit if it fell victim to aggression on a large scale. Russia would have significant financial losses due to its inability to deliver gas to influential consumers and huge payers such as Germany. When the second line of Nord Stream is finished, a significant part of the gas will be transported regardless of the situation in Ukraine. That will open up new fields of maneuver for Russian politics.
Putin can now do anything he wants in Ukraine and Georgia.
The same goes for Germany, which has already started to blackmail Poland over energy production by forcing closures of coal-based power plants and blocking nuclear power projects.
So, who is Putin's agent now?
