The big picture was clear to anyone who bothered to keep their eyes open: back in August, when we first reported that Russian supplies of Nat Gas via the Yamal pipeline had collapsed and when the first stirrings of the upcoming surge in nat gas prices were emerging, we said to "call it a perfect storm of declining supplies, lack of sufficient inventories and ongoing geopolitical posturing as Russia piles pressure on EU authorities to approve the dual-pipeline Nord Stream 2 project through the Baltic Sea and into Germany, while gas shippers are running low on time and, indeed, options to keep Europe adequately supplied this winter."

Specifically, we also warned that "a worst case scenario could see European gas prices explode to suborbital levels that would make Jeff Bezos proud should the continent fail to stock up on sufficient nat gas amounts."

Indeed, that's precisely what happened in the ensuing two months. 

But more importantly, even though Europe is now facing a devastating cold winter with widespread blackouts, Europe's unelected bureaucrats still refuse to accept the reality in which Putin calls all the shots.

So perhaps to make it very clear what it would take to avoid a miserable, freezing winter, today Russia signaled that it won’t go out of its way to offer European consumers extra gas to ease the current energy crisis unless it gets something in return: regulatory approval to start shipments through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.