Canada to return Russian gas turbine despite Ukraine opposition
Germany wants Canada to return the turbine to Russia’s Gazprom to pump gas to Europe, but Ukraine had opposed the move saying it would weaken sanctions regime.
- Canada says it will return to Germany Russian turbines needed to maintain the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. Ukraine had lobbied against the move saying it would weaken western sanctions on Russia.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany as well as several other top foreign envoys.
- The United States promises to provide nearly $368m in further humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
- Ukraine says Russian troops are pursuing “relentless” shelling on its eastern Donetsk region.
Here are all the latest updates:
Outcry over Canadian decision to return repaired turbine for Nord Stream 1
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress has denounced the Canadian government’s decision to return a repaired Russian turbine to Germany for maintenance on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
Alexandra Chyczij, national president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, said in a statement that “our community is deeply disappointed by the Canadian government’s decision to bow to Russian blackmail”.
He said Canada is setting “a dangerous precedent that will lead to the weakening of the sanctions regime imposed on Russia”.
Canada to return repaired Russian turbine for Nord Stream 1
Canada has decided to return to Germany a repaired Russian turbine that is needed to maintain the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
“Canada will grant a time-limited and revocable permit for Siemens Canada to allow the return of repaired Nord Stream 1 turbines to Germany, supporting Europe’s ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they continue to transition away from Russian oil and gas,” said Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.
“Absent a necessary supply of natural gas, the German economy will suffer very significant hardship and Germans themselves will be at risk of being unable to heat their homes as winter approaches,” he said in a statement.
The decision came after Russia’s Gazprom cut capacity along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Europe to just 40 percent of usual levels last month, citing the delayed return of equipment being serviced by Germany’s Siemens Energy in Canada, and not market conditions amid the Ukraine war.
Germany wants Canada to return the turbine to Gazprom, but Ukraine had urged Ottawa to keep the turbine, saying a return would violate sanctions on Moscow.
The turbine would be sent to Germany first, which will then deliver it to Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom, a government source told the Reuters news agency earlier this week.
Sacking of envoys ‘normal part of diplomatic practice’: Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s president says the dismissal of several of the country’s senior ambassadors was a rotation that was a “normal part of diplomatic practice”.
It was not clear if the envoys would be assigned new positions.
Those sacked included Ukraine’s ambassadors to Germany, India, the Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary.
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Read all the updates from Saturday, July 9, here.
