On Wednesday, Moscow cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria as the countries refused to breach sanctions imposed by the West on Russia for invading Ukraine. Germany also confirmed that was on its way to cutting its dependence on Russian gas supplies.
Russia cuts gas
In a huge escalation of Russia’s broader fight with the West over its invasion of Ukraine, Russian energy giant Gazprom has informed Poland and Bulgaria that gas supplies will be cut off to both countries as of Wednesday.
Since Moscow began what it terms a military campaign in Ukraine on February 24, Poland and Bulgaria would be the first nations to have their gas supplies shut off by Europe’s principal supplier. The decision to cut off supply came after Warsaw slapped restrictions on Russian persons and corporations.
Moscow appears to be following through on a promise to cut off gas supplies to countries who refuse to pay in rubles, as Vladimir Putin has demanded.
Europe has stated that doing so would be a violation of sanctions and would significantly boost Russia’s hand. Poland has been particularly vocal in its condemnation of Russia during the conflict.
PGNiG, Poland’s largest gas provider, has been warned that all gas flows will cease on Wednesday. Minutes earlier, Gazprom, the Russian gas company, had warned Poland that it would have to pay for its gas supplies on Tuesday in Russian currency.
“I can confirm we’ve received such threats from Gazprom which are linked among other things to the means of payment,” said Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki
“Poland is sticking to the arrangements and maybe Russia will try to punish Poland” by cutting deliveries.
Cutoffs have been looming for weeks, but there was some hint last week that the European Union was considering a way out of the impasse.
The payments for April for the first batch of Russian gas supply under the new terms are due in late April and early May, and European politicians and executives are still figuring out how to respond. Europe is heavily reliant on Russian gas and has thus far mostly avoided sanctions on the energy sector.
Poland has been prepping for life without Russian gas, and the government declared on Tuesday that it had sufficient fuel in store. Warsaw has been advocating for stronger measures against Russia, but other EU countries have objected.
Germany will manage Russian oil embargo
Germany intends to replace Russian oil with supplies from other sources within days, according to Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who said that Germany would then be able to cope with an EU embargo on Russian oil imports.
Germany has previously stated that it might wean itself off of Russian oil by the end of the year, under pressure to lessen its reliance on Russian energy following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. However, it has rejected the concept of a blanket ban on imports into the European Union.
Before the Ukraine conflict, Russian oil supplied around a third of Germany’s needs. Robert Habeck the Vice Chancellor of Germany announced a month earlier that Germany’s reliance on Russian oil had been reduced to 25% of total imports.
Habeck stated on Tuesday that Russian oil now made up only 12% of Germany’s supply and that it went to only one refinery, the PCK refinery in Schwedt, near Berlin. Rosneft, the Russian state-owned oil business, owns and operates PCK.