The Russian company, Gazprom, announced that it had stopped pumping gas to a major German company, after… Gas cut off from 5 European countries.
Russia expanded its cuts to gas flowing to Europe, with Gazprom announcing that it would cut supplies to several “unfriendly” countries that refused to accept Moscow’s plan to pay the ruble for gas.
The Russian gas giant’s move is the latest retaliation for Western sanctions imposed on Moscow after the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, escalating its economic battle with Brussels and raising European gas prices.
Gazprom said on Tuesday it had completely cut off gas supplies to Dutch gas trading company GasTerra.
It later said it would also stop, as of June 1, gas from Denmark’s Ørsted and Shell, which supplies Germany with gas, after both failed to make payments in rubles.
The comments come on the heels of Monday’s agreement by European leaders to cut European Union imports of Russian oil by 90% by the end of the year, the bloc’s strongest response yet to the attack.
Gazprom said on Tuesday it would cut gas flows to Ørsted in Denmark and to Shell Energy for its gas supply contract to Germany, after the two companies declined to pay in rubles.
Gazprom added that the cut-off will take effect from June 1.
Russia has already cut off gas supplies to Poland, Bulgaria, Finland and the Netherlands, which have refused to accede to their demands to open ruble accounts with a Russian bank under the payment settlement system.
Ørsted said on Monday that Gazprom’s export arm had stopped supplying gas, but added that such a move would not pose an immediate danger to Denmark’s gas supply network.
Gazprom said Shell and Ørsted had failed to pay in rubles for gas deliveries by the end of the working day May 31, and would halt deliveries until they paid in line with Russian demands.