Russian Ultra-Nationalists Criticize Transport Of Russian Natural Gas Through Ukraine To The West, Putin: 'We Pay Money For This Transit'

During an October 5, 2023 session of the "Valdai" Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think tank, Russian President Vladimir Putin touched on a controversial topic: the transport of Russian natural gas to the West via Ukraine, saying: "Supplies [of natural gas] continue, including through the territory of Ukraine. We... pay money for this transit."[1]

Photo of Vladimir Putin attending the "Valdai" forum. (Source: Grigory Sysoyev, RIA Novosti / kremlin.ru). The president stated, "We hear [claims] that we are aggressors, but the money apparently does not stink. [The Ukrainians] receive the money with pleasure."[2]

Russia's state-owned energy company, Gazprom, and its Ukrainian counterpart, Naftogaz Group, signed a contract in 2019 for the transit of natural gas from Russia, via Ukraine, to the West. Under the terms of the contract, Gazprom is to transfer at least of 225 billion cubic meters of gas through Ukraine from 2020-2024. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2020, the volume of natural gas supplied dropped significantly, while export prices skyrocketed. For example, in January 2023, only 1 billion cubic metersof gas were shipped to the European Union through Ukraine. According to media reports, in January 2023, Kyiv received $109 million from Moscow for this shipment. The total annual amount for 2022 was about $1.27 billion.[3] It appears that Russia is having trouble compensating for the throughput capacity of Ukrainian pipelines to European markets. Ukraine, too, has plans to fulfill its shipment obligations to supply natural gas to its EU partners.[4]

Reaction Of Radical And Ultra-Nationalist Groups

Ukraine continues to supply gas to Russia, while Russia is at war with Ukraine and is subjecting Ukraine to economic sanctions – or, as Russian authorities call it, "economic warfare."[5] The contradiction is clear. It is argued that some of the money paid by Gazprom to Ukraine's Naftogaz Group will fill the coffers of Ukraine's military budget, which in turn will be spent on munitions and equipment to fight Russian troops. One of the goals of the "Special Military Operation" in Ukraine, as stated by President Putin himself, was the "demilitarization of the country [Ukraine]."

Thus, it seems, that while Russian armed forces face Ukrainian equipment and fire on the battlefield, Gazprom finances the resupply of the very same equipment and shells for the Ukrainian army. In addition, supplying hydrocarbons, amid skyrocketing petrol prices within Russia, raises many questions even among pro-state and pro-Kremlin groups. Extremist and ultra-nationalist groups reinterpret these facts, mix them with anti-elite narratives, and incorporate them into their growing discontent with the authorities' polices.

Ultra-nationalist groups call for the use of harsher tactics, both on the battlefield and in foreign economic policy. Some argue that Russia fights cautiously in order not to damage valuable property belonging to oligarchs. For instance, on September 23, a neo-Nazi "White News" channel, published[6] a post commenting on the news of the continuation of gas supplies passing through Ukraine. The post incorporated antisemitic narratives to state that Gazprom, which it asserts has Jewish leadership, benefits from the war, while non-Jews kill each other in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The image above, under the words, "White News," depicts a medieval battle. The caption reads: "While 'Gazprom' continues to supply gas to Europe via Ukraine, Goyim kill each other in Ukraine."

A staunch critic of Vladimir Putin, Donbass war veteran and former Federal Security Service Officer Igor Strelkov[7] condemns Russia's "gas politics." As far back as 2015, Strelkov claimed that Gazprom subversively financed the Russian liberal opposition.[8] He argued in his interviews that fearing Gazprom financial losses, Russia does not use the most effective weapons – such as the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, a hypersonic, air-launched ballistic missile – to strike important targets in Ukraine.[9] His Telegram channel also posts items showcasing Ukrainian revenues from the transit of Russian gas.[10]

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The Christian Orthodox fascist "Russian Imperial Movement" (RIM), which is specially designated by the U.S. state department, also has a critical stance on the issue. In a post published on September 28, the group was indignant that the lives of white and Russian people seem to be less important for the authorities than revenues. The post read: "Well... war means war, but supplying so much gas to the enemy so that there is enough of it, not only for the needs of the separatists[11] but also for selling it on the side, is also important thing. So, it's exactly like in the States – n**gers' lives matter. Or, more precisely, the lives of n**gers matter more. And the lives of whites and Russians obviously don't matter, do they?" The anti-Semitic Telegram channel called, "Chabad Is the Road to Hell" supports the narrative that the reason for the lack of effective attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure by the Russian army is because many Russian oligarchs own assets in Ukraine.[12]

In another example, the Christian Orthodox channel called "Not Peace, But Sword" evokes the Second World War, to urge curbing all economic cooperation with the West. In the July 12 post,[13] the group argues that the Kremlin's war politics are ambiguous: "[The war in Ukraine] is certainly not the Great Patriotic War, and it is not a war at all, but just a special military operation, like the ones in Syria or Afghanistan. That is why one can pay Ukraine money for gas transit or enter agreements on an ammonia pipeline, grain, whatever you want. Nothing personal, just business." The post declares that there is no coherent goal in the war, just corporate interests.

The image depicts a map of the offensive operations of the Red Army in the Second World War with the caption: "Our Grandfathers Entered no Negotiations." The image to the right depicts a Soviet wartime poster: "Let's Reach Berlin!" The caption reads: "Our grandfathers did not negotiate because it was a WAR, a patriotic one... Until victory. The army [Red Army] knew that; everyone knew that. They knew that the goal was to destroy the enemy. The goal was Berlin. What are the people being told now?"

The Russian government faces a critical contradiction. The budget is in dire need of revenue, which is mainly earned via the export of natural resources, such as natural gas, while Russian society is tired of the war, and even ultra-patriots are becoming disillusioned with the authorities' policies. As the war drags on, calls to step up the war effort and increase the confrontation with Ukraine and the West will be heard more often, and more urgently.