The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), a major international diaspora organization, announced on Tuesday that it had asked a court to issue an injunction to prevent the Canadian government from returning a German-made gas turbine that Russia says it needs to deliver natural gas to Germany.
The group said its effort together with local allies to lobby the Canadian government failed to stop Ottawa from reaching a deal with Berlin on the key piece of equipment. As a result, the UWC has asked the Federal Court of Canada to intervene.
The turbine in question was used to pump Russian natural gas to Germany via the Nord Stream undersea pipeline. The Russian gas company Gazprom sent it to the manufacturer, Siemens Energy, for routine maintenance, which was done at a plant in Montreal. However, anti-Russian sanctions imposed by Canada barred the company from returning it.
Last month, Russia said it had no choice but to decrease the flow of gas into Europe via Nord Stream by roughly 60% due to the missing piece of equipment. Germany initially decried the decision as political before later scrambling to negotiate a sanctions waiver from Canada, which the UWC wants the Canadian court to scrap.