The completion of Nord Stream 2 will affect life across the board in Ukraine, a Ukrainian lawmaker from the Opposition Platform — For Life, Nestor Shufrych has stated in an interview with a local TV channel.
"Today we can already say that two very sad [events] for Ukrainians have happened […] When it comes to Nord Stream 2 – it will, unfortunately, affect each and every Ukrainian. It will affect everyone because [its opening] is a major blow to our economy", Shufrych said.
The politician did not elaborate just exactly how a potential reduction in Kiev's earnings from Russian gas transit to Europe will affect each and every citizen. Instead, he offered his view on how the government should have acted to prevent this outcome.
Shufrych lambasted Kiev for repeating the claims that Nord Stream 2 won't be finished "like some kind of mantra", instead of behaving proactively. The lawmaker specifically suggested that instead of trying to convince western states to ditch the project, Ukraine should have secured a long-term binding contract with Russia on gas transit – one that would last not four, but between 14 and 25 years.
US Backs Down on Opposing Nord Stream 2 as Pipeline Nears Completion
While the joint project between Russia's Gazprom and European energy giants largely enjoyed support in Europe, it was vehemently opposed in Washington. The US insisted that Nord Stream 2 will increase the EU's dependency on Russian gas and suggested its allies buy LNG instead, for example, from the US itself.
European nations, however, ignored Washington's calls and carried on with the project, prompting America to slap extraterritorial sanctions on the pipeline in 2019. The latter were condemned in the EU and specifically Germany – one of Nord Stream 2's main benefactors.
The US subsequently backtracked from the threats of sanctions against companies working on the pipeline's construction under the Biden administration, which admitted that it was too late to try to stop a nearly complete project. Yet, Washington still advised its European allies to walk away from Russian gas.
Washington's sanctions failed to stop the Nord Stream 2 for long and construction resumed in 2020. In June 2021, the first line of the Nord Stream 2 was completed and the second is due to be finished in a couple of months, according to current estimates.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a multinational endeavour that will be able to deliver up to 55 billion cubic metres of gas to the EU annually.