>= EU state threatens to block new anti-Russia sanctions==

If new restrictions target the energy sector, there will be no backing from Hungary, a senior official has said

Budapest will not support any new anti-Russian sanctions proposed by the EU if they target Russian energy, a senior official in the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned.

“Hungary has done a lot already to maintain European unity but if there are energy sanctions in the package, then we cannot and will not support it,” Gergely Gulyas, Orban’s chief of staff, told journalists during a briefing on Thursday.

“We are waiting for a final, full list of sanctions and then we can negotiate about it,” he added. “Hungary cannot support energy sanctions.”

Gulyas was referring to the eighth package of sanctions that EU members are currently debating. The official reiterated his government’s criticism of Brussels’ policy.

The restrictions imposed on Russian trade have failed to put an end to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, he said. They also hurt European nations worse than they did Russia, contrary to what the EU leadership promised, he added, citing surging energy prices and the profits that Russia has raked thanks to them.

Hungary is heavily dependent on Russian energy supplies and has been resisting Brussels, as it pressured member states to decouple their economies from the source. Budapest secured a waiver for itself when an embargo on importing Russian oil was included in one of the previous rounds of sanctions in May.

The new EU package may include measures to enforce a price cap for Russian oil bought by third parties, more individual sanctions against Russian citizens, and further curbs on EU trade with Russia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told journalists on Wednesday.

https://www.rt.com/news/563739-hungary-energy-sanctions-russia/

Germany Believes High Explosive Devices Equivalent To "500 Kilograms Of TNT" Used To Destroy Nord Stream

Update (0954ET):

German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that German security officials believe "highly effective explosive devices" were used to blow up the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

According to SPIEGEL information, it was calculated that explosive devices with an effect comparable to that of 500 kilograms of TNT must have been used to destroy the tubes. The seismic signals registered by various measuring stations were also included in the estimate.

The previously unknown estimates support the assumption that only a state actor can be behind the action. So far, the federal government has held back with speculation about the background to the interruption of the pipelines.

There is a lot of speculation that Russia is behind the action. The Russian leadership, however, described the process as international terrorism directed against Russia.

The federal government is hoping for more information from a more detailed examination of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which are interrupted to the north-east and south-east of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm. In security circles it was said that divers or a remote-controlled robot could possibly assess the damage at the weekend.

In the best-case scenario, one could then draw initial conclusions about the type of explosion under water and the explosives used, according to security circles. However, it is difficult to predict how many traces can still be found. – Der Spiegel

The blasts were so large that the Swedish National Seismic Network detected a 1.9 on the Richter scale and another one that registered 2.3…

Two powerful underwater explosions were detected on Monday in the same area of sea as the Nord Stream gas leaks, according to the Swedish National Seismic Network.

The monitoring network said the first explosion occurred on Monday at 2:03 a.m. Swedish time with a magnitude of 1.9 on the Richter scale, followed by a second at 7:04 p.m. on the same day with a magnitude of 2.3.

To get an idea of what the bombs had to rip through to damage the tubes, Bloomberg's Javier Blas shows NS1 and NS2 were inches thick of steel coated with tons of concrete on each section. Blas said each tube is 'very strong'.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/another-nord-stream-leak-detected-swedish-coastguard-says

Poland outlines condition for NATO intervention in Ukraine

The bloc’s forces may enter the country if Russia resorts to the nuclear option, Warsaw says

NATO may send troops into Ukraine if Russia deploys nuclear weapons in that country, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau told local media on Thursday. The US-led military bloc has repeatedly maintained it’s not at war with Moscow and is not a party to the conflict.

Speaking to RMF FM Radio, Rau was asked how the organization would respond if Russia resorts to the nuclear option. According to the minister, the West would firmly – and in coordination with the US – respond to such an attack.

Should the worst happen, Rau said, NATO’s reaction probably wouldn’t differ much from the steps outlined by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. “It would amount to a conventional response on the territory of Ukraine,” the minister explained.

In this vein, Warsaw’s foreign minister did not rule out that NATO troops could enter Ukraine’s territory. “However, it must also be noted that such a move may be unnecessary, because it is possible to use conventional weapons, such as aviation, or to launch relevant missiles, not necessarily from Ukrainian soil,” Rau added.

On Sunday, Jake Sullivan warned that Washington and its allies would act “decisively” if Russia uses tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, adding that it had communicated “at very high levels to the Kremlin” that any use of nuclear weapons in neighboring country would be “met with catastrophic consequences.”

His comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin last week issued a warning to the West, noting that those who use nuclear blackmail against Moscow “should know that the wind rose can turn around.”

Meanwhile, later Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov reiterated that Moscow is “not threatening anyone with nuclear weapons,” citing Russia’s military doctrine that allows the use of such arms only if the very existence of the country is at stake.

Last week, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee Robert Bauer reiterated that the alliance is not at war in Russia, even as it supports Kiev with large quantities of weaponry in its fight against Moscow.

https://www.rt.com/news/563722-poland-ukraine-nato-intervention/