Why is Canada’s turbine return to Russia’s Gazprom fuelling sparks? Here’s what we know

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that concessions to Russia will only embolden further attempts to extract more from allies.

Six months into Russia‘s illegal and bloody invasion of Ukraine, the costs of President Vladimir Putin‘s warmongering continue to grow.

First and foremost, these costs are in the rivers of Ukrainian blood spilled so far, and still yet to flow. Ukrainian lives have been lost, displaced and forever altered — men, women, children and families ripped apart, as the world continues to bear witness to the ongoing invasion of a sovereign democracy.

However, the impacts of the butchery in Ukraine have spilled over beyond its borders, causing higher prices and shortages of everything from grain to electronic chips to fuel.

It is the latter that’s sparking the latest round of debate and criticism, after the Canadian government agreed to let Siemens Canada return six turbines under maintenance in Montreal to Germany — to be handed over to Russia‘s Gazprom to install back onto the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

That decision prompted a furious response from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warning that concessions to Russia will only embolden further attempts to extract more concessions from allies.

“It is difficult, but at the same time it’s a tactical decision,” said Sabine Sparwasser, Germany’s ambassador to Canada, in an interview Wednesday with Global News. “We do not wish to allow Russia to have an excuse to just stop providing Europe with the gas that it still needs.”

So what makes the decision so significant, and why did Germany plead for the turbine return?

First, let’s back up.