P.S. the thing about pipelines is that gas and oil can easily be sent in the other direction. The US is converting its import terminals to export.

If Putin tries to punish the west by cutting off oil and gas the US and other producers will soon step in and fill the gap then where would they be ? It could all be to the good if it acts as a wakeup call to stimulate UK gas and small scale nuclear production.

Supertroll
"But he also wants to be loved and admired by the Russian people," ha ha - do you really believe that? His track record doesn't indicate such a tender desire. He knows how far he need to go to 'punish' and he won't be too worried about the level of pain the poor Russian folk have to endure to satisfy his need for revenge. He won't need to destroy the Russian economy - simply make the EU and the UK feel a bit of pain. On another level though - you now have the US beginning to wade in - now that is a bit interesting - might take the MSM and ordinary folks minds of the porn star's antics in Washington.

Kleinefeldmaus, I disagree, Putin wants to be seen as a strongman yes, but he also wants to be loved and admired by the Russian people, and he can hardly be if he destroys their economic futures.
If Russia did curtail gas exports, the UK is particularly vulnerable. Unlike France, Germany and some other countries, the UK has very little gas storage capacity and has lost its largest facility. Other countries have up to a week's supply, the UK virtually none. Attempts to add more storage have not been supported by successive governments. Europe could suffer controlled brownouts, the UK will experience uncontrolled blackouts.

So Supertroll
Vlad will not be amused that TM has enlisted Merkel and the EU to 'punish' him over Sergei Skripal's poisoning. So the purpose of my cartoon was to show that Vlad was a vindictive a**hole who would stop at nothing to inflict punishment upon his perceived enemies - no matter the cost to (Russia) - of course not him personally - he couldn't give a rat's a about the Russian folk. The EU is vulnerable regarding energy and dependent upon Russia for the foreseeable future. Even the UK has a degree of vulnerability especially in its reluctance to use its natural energy resources. So Vlad could enjoy a bit if sabre rattling - or worse.

@ Mar 27, 2018 at 8:34 AM | Unregistered CommenterSupertroll

True Supertroll - but you are dealing with Vlad the Impaler here. If you have read Bill Browder's book Red Notice which deals with Putin, the Russian Oligarchs and their ruthless methods in some depth you will maybe appreciate that they will care not a jot about the pain then may inflict upon themselves against their foremost purpose in damaging or even destroying their enemy - and ATM TM and the UK could well be in Vlad's sights. He will certainly be capable of 'giving them a taste' of the medicine he would like to dish out.

From Hone's website:

"If you live in Ireland with the lowest light levels in the world, you can typically replace up to 80% of your existing fuel with Daylight. If you live further south than France, you can replace up to 100% of that heating OR cooling load with Daylight as fuel."

Note the weasel words - "up to...".

Kleinefeldmaus. It's a two way street. Much of Western Europe is indeed dependent on Russian natural gas, but so is the Russian economy entirely dependent upon the sale of that same gas. Even during the worst phases of the cold war, gas continued to flow. The oil-and-gas sector accounted for 16% of GDP, and 52% of federal budget revenues (2012, probably more today). It is uncertain if Russia today could withstand a sudden decrease in revenue if the old Soviet Union couldn't.