From May 1st, “the volumes of Kazakh oil that previously went to Germany via Druzhba will be redirected to other logistical routes,” due to insufficient “technical capacities” to transport it, announced Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, quoted by the state news agency Tass. The problems encountered in the management of this vast pipeline have not been specified, but Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov later hinted that they would be linked to Ukrainian drone attacks, as reported in the pages of the British newspaper Financial Times.
The Druzhba pipeline, commissioned in the 1960s, is one of the main energy arteries connecting the former Soviet Union countries to Central Europe. This vast network of 9,000 kilometers links Russian and Kazakh oil fields to several European countries, including Germany. While the volumes of Kazakh oil there are limited to approximately 2-3 million tons per year, they nonetheless account for up to “20% to 30% of the needs of the Schwedt refinery,” according to Forbes Kazakhstan.
By using this energy leverage, Moscow is targeting Berlin specifically. This comes at a time when Europe is experiencing an energy crisis linked to the war in the Middle East. “This does not rest”
