> Russia’s threats become completely empty and meaningless if the blackmailees know that the blackmailer can’t turn the gas back on. Empty threats are Russia's

> Russia’s threats become completely empty and meaningless if the blackmailees know that the blackmailer can’t turn the gas back on. Empty threats are Russia's MO and have been for literal decades now. They've threatened Europe with nukes so many times that it doesn't even make the news anymore when it happens. Also, NS1 was not the only operational pipeline and it would have been a massive win for Russia if Germany had flipped their decision on NS2 to ensure their own gas supply. And clearly if they're working on NS1 now, it wasn't damaged beyond repair. > Putin may be stupid, but he’s not that stupid. I don't know, it sure looks like it. Most of his recent actions seem to be best explained as short-term fixes to a massive strategic blunder. It's only human to try to read into things and assume there must be some greater plan to his moves.