Quote Originally Posted by poop
Was this the same pipeline that Russia "shut down for maintenance" then?
Yes. This is Russia using their leverage. When the pipe is no longer operational, that leverage is gone, handed over to Ukraine.

Is there a reason why it matters who did it and why in the bigger scheme of things, apart from giving Ong a chance to troll people? (the first part of that q. is serious, not the second)
I wish you didn't take my comments personally. I'm not trying to troll anyone here, this isn't Twitter and you guys are not randoms.

I take the positions I do because I don't trust Western geopolitics any more than I trust Russia's.

Does it matter who did it? Probably not. I mean, is Russia actually going to retaliate against USA in an actual serious way? I doubt it.

("you're fucked Putin we're never buying your gas again")
This isn't the its purpose. The intention, as I see it, is to ensure future gas sales to Europe go through Ukraine. And if that happens, Ukraine can cut off Russian income at will.

Leverage.