Germany had followed the wrong energy strategy, abandoning nuclear power in favor of solar and wind.
Back in 2010, Putin asked "If you don't like gas or nuclear power, are you going to get heat from firewood?"
His words have taken on prophetic significance.
Fast forward 2022, Germany has moved from an advanced nation to a third world status as Germans are being urged to heat up their homes this winter with firewood.

In a segment following his formal speech, Putin took questions from a moderator, CNBC journalist Hadley Gamble. She asked him, "Do you believe it is a mistake for governments, for example, for Germany, for other countries, to move away from nuclear energy?"

"Whether it is a mistake or not, is up to the people of Germany to decide," Putin responded. "If you want to know my opinion on this matter, whether this is a mistake, in my opinion, it does not make any sense, because nuclear power accounts for over 80% of the energy balance in France, Germany's neighbour," he said. (Nuclear energy actually makes up about 70% of French electricity). "Does it make any sense," Putin asked, "to close down nuclear generation in one place while on the other side of the fence, on the neighbouring territory, nuclear is flourishing?"

"I can understand that in a country as big as Russia, with its immense territory - the biggest country in the world - you could say that we will develop nuclear in one part of the country, but there are reasons not to do so in other parts," Putin continued. "However, in Europe with its density where everything is crammed together, does this make any sense? Either they have to agree on this policy on a pan-European level, or it will not make any sense."

"That said, nuclear power accounts for a substantial portion of Germany’s energy mix," he said, quickly referring to Rosatom head Andrey Likhachov for figures. "They used to have over 30%, but now they have only 11% [nuclear in their electricity mix].
This is a huge loss in power generating capacity. Of course, they must replace this resource with something.
But what? Wind turbines? That is tricky. It is how you get price hikes.
You see, everything must be done softly, calmly, in a balanced and calibrated manner. This is what matters. In addition, professionals must be the ones to take these decisions, not someone else."

Putin continued: "Many decisions come at random today based on the current political situation. I believe many participants in this process are taking advantage of people's fears about climate change to achieve domestic political goals or, perhaps, to derive certain economic benefits, because low-carbon energy also involves the production of equipment and the creation of infrastructure, and much more. It is necessary for the public and public organisations, including environmental organisations, to be aware of these problems and to be clear-eyed when making final decisions."