"Putin's favorite toy in recent years - the "Nord Stream 2" pipeline - may not be realized, but they make a big bet on it in Russia," Gonchar said.

This project is important not only as an additional mechanism for gas exports to Europe, but also as a way of involving former European leaders to work on Gazprom, the expert explained.

"Nord Stream 2" may fail because of the fact that it would be unprofitable for European companies to cooperate with Russian ones.

"European companies are afraid, because then such a business does not make sense, because they will have to pay a double price, the first one - to Gazprom for the gas received, and the other price - the United States penalties," Mykhailo Gonchar said.

At the same time, the expert said that extending sanctions is not Trump's initiative. Instead, it is a continuation of Ronald Reagan's policy that warned Western Europe in the 1980s of dependence on the former USSR through pipeline projects.