Germany's canning of Nord Stream 2 will hit Putin hard

Vladimir Putin’s threats towards Ukraine have, in part, been an operation in stoking divisions throughout the West. As James Forsyth explains in the magazine’s latest cover piece, it was just weeks ago that Germany was not on the same page as the US and the UK about what actions from Putin might classify as an invasion – and how such actions might trigger western countries to respond.

The obvious sticking point for Berlin has been Nord Stream 2: the now-completed gas pipeline running under the Baltics, built to transfer 110 billion cubic metres of gas supplies from Russia to Germany each year and bypass the current pipeline which runs through Ukraine. With Germany getting roughly 35 per cent of its gas supply from Russia, Germany’s energy policy over the past decade has been designed around increasing these imports. But this dependency on Russia for energy has been coming under strain, especially over the past year as Putin’s movements have become increasingly aggressive towards his neighbours.