2022–2023 Russia–European Union gas dispute
The Russia–EU gas dispute flared up in March 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Russia and the major EU countries clashed over the issue of payment for natural gas pipelined to Europe by Russia's Gazprom, amidst sanctions on Russia that were expanded in response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In June, Gazprom claimed it was obliged to cut the flow of gas to Germany by more than half, as a result of such sanctions that prevented the Russian company from receiving its turbine component from Canada. On 26 September 2022, three of the four pipes of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines were sabotaged. This resulted in a record release of 115,000 tonnes (250 million pounds) of methane (CH4) – an equivalent of 15 million tonnes (33 billion pounds) of carbon dioxide (CO2) – and is believed to have made a contribution to global warming.
As of August 2023, the price of gas had fallen to a fraction of the 2022 peak price and whilst Russian pipeline gas exports continued to flow in small quantities via Ukraine and via the TurkStream pipeline, provided the recipient was willing to pay in rubles, the EU had found alternate sources of gas for its needs and are no longer reliant on Russia as an energy source. Arbitration cases are pending, with large claims being made against Gazprom.