STOCKHOLM šC As winter approaches, the Kremlin is instigating trouble in Europe.
Its latest machinations include a gas war against Central and Eastern European countries; a migration crisis along Belarus¡¯s borders with Lithuania, Latvia and Poland; a renewed military mobilization on Ukraine¡¯s eastern border; and agitation for Serbian secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Although this campaign has multiple objectives, a common thread runs through it: the Kremlin¡¯s desire to divide and weaken the European Union. That means acquiring Germany¡¯s approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as fast as possible; disrupting the EU gas market, with a view to returning to Soviet-style long-term contracts, with gas prices tied to oil; and weakening Ukraine and forcing Moldova to abandon its European Association Agreement and join Russia¡¯s Eurasian Economic Union instead.
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