
In summer 2014, the U.S. and EU introduced several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions targeting the country’s wealthiest and most powerful government allies. In response, Russia introduced a trade embargo against some European states.
On Oct. 30, Russia, Ukraine and the EU finally agreed on the conditions under which Russian natural gas will be delivered to Europe and Ukraine this winter. The EU promised Ukraine financial aid, but it specified that Brussels won’t take on Ukraine’s financial responsibilities in case it can’t make payments.
According to the U.N., estimated losses from infrastructure destruction in the Donbas region of Ukraine are $440 million since the armed conflict there started. Every day the debt is increasing, and the country is being pulled into economic and humanitarian disaster. It will take years until full recovery is possible. But until the fighting stops, it’s too early to talk about recovery.
Europe’s shale gas reserves are almost as big as America’s, but many countries have either banned fracking completely or are experiencing difficulties due to citizens’ opposition and technical challenges. Despite the Ukrainian crisis and its dependence on Russian imports, Europe is still indecisive about pushing forward with shale gas fracking.