MAGAZINE
2022
article to editing , Hungary continues to block an outright oil embargo on the Russian Federation within the EU , which is only one symptom of a larger discord among nations reliant on the resource .
ENERGY SECURITY AND UKRAINIAN SOVEREIGNTY
Accordingly , this is where NATO finds itself today - with an ongoing conflict between the parties of Russia and the NATO partner of Ukraine . Throughout the winter of 2022 , over 100,000 Russian troops positioned themselves upon the Ukrainian border , subsequently invading the nation as part of a self-proclaimed “ special military operation ” on February 24th . Ukraine , a non-NATO member but partner state , has been seeking ascension to the Alliance for more than a decade , participating in various programs such as the Operational Capability Concept ( OCC ) Evaluation and Feedback program at the operational level , while also holding recurring staff talks with different component commands at the strategic level . While this is within their right as a sovereign nation to do , it evidently only aggravated Russia further , leading to their outright invasion as a sequel to the original 2014 occupation of various territories including Crimea . Overall , this action finds itself less than a decade removed from the initial incursion by Russia , and it has heavy implications on both the security and economic pictures in Europe .
It is important to note that , since the 2014 conflict , Ukrainian sovereignty has remained a priority for NATO ’ s military Figure 3 – Gas Transportation through Ukraine20 cooperation sections , seeing an enhanced partnership with the nation acted upon . These have included deepened relationships specifically in the land domain such as through the OCC program that Allied Land Command has previously illustrated in this publication . Moreover , condemnation of Russian actions has been consistent by almost all member states within NATO in parallel with the enhanced cooperation activities that have thus taken place .
PHYSICAL FRAMEWORK The Nord Stream 2 is a proposed pipeline stretching across the Baltic Sea , from Russia to Germany , planned to be constructed in parallel to the original Nord Stream pipeline . According to Gazprom , the Russian state-sponsored company overseeing the project , the second pipeline was designed to “ ensure a highly reliable supply of Russian gas to Europe ” and that the pipeline will ultimately become “ important when Europe sees a decline in domestic gas production and an increasing demand for imported gas ”. Behind these stated intentions from such a company is elicited the likely truth in the matter – that creating a Europe reliant on Russian gas is inherently in the interest of overall deterrence and the advancement of the Kremlin ’ s objectives . Overall , since the invasion , Europe has mostly turned away from the proposed pipeline , but arguably at great cost as worldwide fuel prices have skyrocketed , leaving NATO nations scrambling to find alternative sources of fuel in wake of imposed sanctions on Russia .
13 . - Gazprom , “ Nord Stream 2 ”, accessed 31 January 2022 , https :// www . gazprom . com / projects / nordstream2 /.
14 . - Ibid
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Regardless of the stated objectives of the pipelines , one nation remains mired in the ordeal of energy security , this being Ukraine . The invasion has evidently created disturbances in gas flows , partly playing into the destabilization of the Russian economy itself that was so reliant on gas exports . Conversely , the Kremlin seems apathetic to the overall provision of Europe with its natural gas in a sense , creating an image of indifference to imposed sanctions . Its economy has since seemingly recovered from its initial shock , but questions remain
15 . - S . Zimmermann , “ What is Nord Stream 2 and how does it link to the Russia-Ukraine crisis ?”, EuroNews , 25 January 2022 , accessed 26 January 2022 , https :// www . euronews . com / 2022 / 01 / 24 / what-is-nord-stream-2-and-how-does-it-link-to-the-russia-ukraine-crisis .