Fears rise of energy crisis after Russia switches off the gas – again

Shutdown over oil leak' comes only hours after G7 nations agree to impose a price cap

Fears that Europe could be engulfed by a winter energy crisis reached new heights yesterday after the Russian energy supplier Gazprom extended the shutdown of gas flows it had imposed through its key Nord Stream 1 pipeline into Germany.

The seriousness of the situation is underlined by the fact that Russia kept gas supplies to Europe flowing even at the height of the Cold War. By contrast, the pipeline has now been shut down twice since the Russian invasion of Ukraine: for 10 days in July in addition to the current indefinite closure.