Does the Czech Republic get Russian gas through Germany? No, that's not true: The Czech Republic successfully eliminated its reliance on gas imports from Russia in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade. Deliveries via Germany consist of liquefied gas (LNG) from Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as gas from Norway.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted on TikTok by @branislavhric8 on September 10, 2023. The video opened (translation from Czech by Lead Stories):
This is how we "simply" replaced Russian gas with US-Russian LNG. The Russians will make a profit. The Chinese will make a profit. The Americans will make money. And the Europeans will pay for it all. And they're thrilled how they screwed up the Russians. I guess it's pointless to ask who's an asshole...
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of the writing of this fact check:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Sep 25 09:01:15 2023 UTC)
The only place where Russian pipeline gas can reach the Czech Republic is through Slovakia. Since the Nord Stream pipeline, through which Europe had been getting 35% of its gas, was closed on August 31, 2022, there is no way to distribute Russian gas to the Czech Republic through Germany.
The photo in the video suggests that Russian gas comes to Europe through China, where the U.S. transports it on. However, China buys gas both from Russia and the US. The U.S. Energy Information Administration shows no information that the U.S. re-exports gas from China to Europe.
