Russia has stepped up its attacks in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces are occupying one village after another in the Donbass region. Their main goal is to seize the eastern part of the country and the southern coastal areas from Ukraine. Moscow reports today that Kiev’s forces have been ousted from Velika Komishuvaka and Zavodi in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine. Donetsk’s Zharichne and Novotoshkivske are now under Russian control. Russia has also claimed that a large arsenal of weapons sent by the West to Ukraine’s Zaporizhia has been destroyed by missiles fired today. Kiev still controls most of Ukraine’s airspace, according to Britain’s defense ministry.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Russia threatened at the start of the war that those who would side with Ukraine would have to pay a high price. Today, Russia cut off fuel supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. However, a report claimed that gas supplies to Poland had been cut off for some time today. Later it was launched again. The Bulgarian issue, however, is not temporary. The country’s finance minister said they had received a notice that fuel supplies would be cut off from April 28. According to them, the price of fuel was paid to Russia in accordance with the agreement. Even after that, Moscow did this.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Poland and Bulgaria are members of the European Union (EU). So the EU will respond collectively. “Once again, Russia has tried to blackmail us by raising the issue of energy,” he said. Gazprom, however, claimed that Poland and Bulgaria could not pay the price in rubles because they had to pay. However, Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, wrote on Twitter: “Russia is using fuel as a weapon of war.”
Today, EU member states convened an emergency meeting following the incident. Alternative sources of fuel are being discussed. “I will not give in to pressure,” said Alexander Nikolov, Bulgaria’s energy minister. Alternative measures will be taken.
