Russia has cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.
The Kremlin’s move comes a day after the United States and other Western allies promised more advanced and more military aid to Ukraine.
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Meanwhile, gas prices in Europe have risen by 25 percent due to Russia’s gas cut-off. The benchmark Dutch Future has risen from around 100 euros per megawatt hour to about 125 euros.
Gazprom, the state-controlled Russian giant gas supplier, said it was cutting off its natural gas connections with Poland and Bulgaria after the Russian currency refused to pay in rubles.
The company also said that they have not received any money since the beginning of this month.
European leaders, meanwhile, have called Russia’s behavior “blackmail.”
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirill Petkov also called the suspension of gas supplies a “blackmail” and said it was a “gross violation of their agreement.”
“We will not bow to such a cycle,” he said.
Bulgaria gets more than 90 percent of its gas from Russia. Officials in the country say they are exploring other alternative sources. Such as Azerbaijan.
But Emily McClain, an analyst at Rested Energy, says Poland has enough natural gas reserves and that the country will soon benefit from two pipelines coming online.
