Top Russian official taunts Europe with sky-high gas prices after Germany axes Nord Stream 2 pipeline

• The deputy chair of Russia's security council taunted Europe with higher gas prices on Tuesday.
• He made the comment after Germany put a stop to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

A top Russian government official on Tuesday taunted Europe with sky-high gas prices after Germany put a stop to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline amid Russia's decision to order troops into eastern Ukraine.

"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has issued an order to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline," Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and the deputy chair of Russia's security council, said in a tweet.

"Well. Welcome to the brave new world where Europeans are very soon going to pay €2.000 for 1.000 cubic meters of natural gas!" he added.

Germany on Tuesday scrapped plans for Nord Stream 2 — an undersea pipeline that would carry natural gas from Russia to Europe — in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's recognizing the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

In an interview with CNN, Jonathan Finer, a deputy US national security advisor, described Russia's latest moves as "the beginning of an invasion" of Ukraine.

Nord Stream 2 is highly controversial; the Ukrainian government and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Washington have opposed it. Critics have contended that Nord Stream 2 would give Russia far too much leverage over Europe. The pipeline also bypasses Ukraine, depriving it of billions in gas transit fees.

Nord Stream 2 was not yet operational — it was waiting on German certification.

For months Germany had tiptoed around committing to halting the pipeline if Russia took action against Ukraine. But President Joe Biden earlier this month said that if Russia invaded Ukraine there would "no longer be a Nord Stream 2."

The White House applauded Germany's swift reaction to Russia's actions.

Biden "made clear that if Russia invaded Ukraine, we would act with Germany to ensure Nord Stream 2 does not move forward," Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a tweet on Tuesday. "We have been in close consultations with Germany overnight and welcome their announcement. We will be following up with our own measures today."