The U.S. is threatening painful sanctions against Russia if it launches an attack on Ukraine, but Moscow could hit back at the West by throttling natural gas supplies to Europe or triggering a spike in oil prices, experts and former U.S. officials say.
The Biden administration says it’s holding talks with gas companies and European governments to prepare for possible Russian attempts to disrupt the flow of natural gas to Europe, but it’s not clear whether Washington and its allies will be able to offset a concerted retaliation by Russia, former officials and industry experts said.
A short disruption on a limited scale could be managed, although natural gas prices would rise further and governments would have to help subsidize the effort, industry analysts said. However, a major cut in gas supplies over a sustained period could have devastating consequences.
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