GERMANY - Olaf Scholz has chillingly warned that if Vladimir Putin is allowed to "get away with it" in Ukraine with Russia's ongoing war, Germany's security and freedom could be under serious threat. The Chancellor acknowledged Germany is now waking up to the “value of democracy and liberty, and the fact that they are worth defending”. The warning comes with Germany under huge pressure to scrap sanctions aimed at crippling Russia's economy as the European Union struggles to stop the continent's economic situation from spiralling out of control. Germany could face a horrific winter amid surging fears Vladimir Putin will cut off gas supplies from Russia following the completed annual maintenance work to the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Worse still, this could send inflation surging throughout the bloc, with experts warning the Eurozone could crash into recession. The German Government is now planning for a sustained outage that could force parts of the country - home to the EU's biggest economy - to shut down as the bitterly cold winter months approach. Heating bills could even triple, with fears right-wing populists could stir up riots that would make the ill-feeling over the country's Covid restrictions look like a “child’s birthday party”.