A couple weeks ago, US Ambassador Richard Grenell threatened German firms over a critical Russian pipeline.

German companies building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Germany and Russia received letters from US Ambassador Richard Grenell warning them of "a significant risk of sanctions" if they did not pull out of the project, Germany's mass-circulation Bild am Sonntag has reported.

The large pipeline is set to deliver gas from northwestern Russia to northern Germany under the Baltic Sea and effectively double the amount of gas Germany imports from the country.

The US opposes the project over fears that the gas link would tighten Russia's control of Europe's energy supply and diminish the importance of gas transit countries such as Ukraine. US companies are also keen to sell gas obtained by fracking to many European countries.

The big effect of Nord Stream 2 is upon Ukraine, which is financially dependent on "transit fees" from Russian gas shipments to Europe. Ukraine has even defaulted on $3 Billion in debt to Russia, and has no intention of paying it back, while still charging Russia billions in transit fees.
Hence, the importance of Nord Stream 2.
Ukraine has recently started offering to compromise on those transit fees, but Russia is no longer interested.

Then last week Europe defied Washington regarding sanctions on Iran.
In anticipation of a critical vote on the Nord Stream pipeline by the EU today, the U.S. Senate chimed in, hoping to encourage France to block the pipeline.

It didn't work out the way Washington hoped.

France and Germany have reached a compromise that will allow Berlin to remain the lead negotiator with Russia on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, European leaders confirmed on Friday.
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The two EU countries have now agreed to ensure oversight will come from the "territory and territorial sea of the member state where the first interconnection point is located."

Merkel called the pipeline a "purely economic project" that will guarantee cheaper, more reliable gas supplies.

France's Foreign Ministry had earlier signaled its intention to vote for changes to the EU's Third Energy Package Gas Directive regulating gas imports.

Germany's Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has already agreed to the EU compromise.
Nord Stream 2 is now a done deal, and will be finished by November regardless of U.S. sanctions.

Shortly after Nord Stream is online, Turkstream will also go online.
Washington is trying to block that as well.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s upcoming visit to three central European nations - Hungary, Slovakia and Poland - will underscore US opposition to Russian expansion in the region’s energy grid, including the TurkStream pipeline, a Department of State official told reporters on Friday.

However, Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia are already fully committed to the project.

On the other side of Asia, a huge gas pipeline to China is nearing completion. Gazprom, which in 2014 was considered on it's way to bankruptcy, is now set to become one of the most valuable energy companies in the world.

The three new pipelines will together boost Russia's gas export capacity by almost 130 Bcm per year. There is widespread concern that Ukraine's current transit business will be shut down by Russia's refusal to continue relying on Ukraine as a transit country, as a result of these alternatives. Their transit agreement will in fact end this year

The extremely corrupt Ukrainian government can barely keep the lights on as it is.
Losing the transit fees will cause a financial crisis in Ukraine.