Russia says it’s no longer supplying gas to Poland and Bulgaria after the countries refused to pay for their supplies in roubles.
The EU has said it considers the move to be a form of blackmail.
What has happened?
Despite the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has continued to supply a large amount of gas to many European countries.
However, after Western powers placed financial sanctions on Russia, President Putin announced that «unfriendly» countries would have to pay for gas in Russian currency.
The Russian-state-owned energy company Gazprom has said it has cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria and will not restart these until payments are made in roubles.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has warned European energy providers against complying with Russian demands, saying that this would most likely be a breach of EU sanctions.