According to this article, Germany never denied permission to any NATO ally to fly over German airspace. It almost looks as though the Brits, in this case, decided they could get to where they were going just as easily without ever making that request. Apparently understanding Germany’s complicated position.

I think Germany and all of Europe, to a degree, have been allowing themselves to become too reliant on Russia for oil and gas for many years now. That chicken has come home to roost.

The Nordstream 2 pipeline situation is also more nuanced than simply “Germany refuses!” Why are they saying privately that if Russia invades Ukraine the pipeline is dead, but not publicly? According to one report I saw, because the pipeline is privately owned, and if Germany made such commitments publicly, it would trigger Eminent Domain actions, which apparently the German courts don’t take lightly. The report said merely making that commitment publicly could cost the Germans up to $10 Billion.

I don’t know how accurate either the linked article or the report on Eminent Domain are, but I do think a lot of folks are leaping aggressively to conclusions regarding a complicated situation.