Nord Stream 2 pipeline ‘dangerous geopolitical weapon’: Ukraine

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy fiercely opposes Russia’s $12bn pipeline under the Baltic Sea which deprives Kyiv of crucial gas transit fees.

Kyiv sees the soon-to-be-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe and bypassing Ukraine as “a dangerous geopolitical weapon”, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader was speaking on Sunday at a joint news conference in Kyiv with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has spearheaded the pipeline project fiercely opposed by Russian neighbours Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states. The $12bn pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea is set to double Russian natural gas shipments to Germany, Europe’s largest economy. It avoids Ukraine, depriving Kyiv of essential gas transit fees.