The day has come when European countries finally realised that Russia was not bluffing. It seems that few have any idea what the economic ripple effects will be from what is a completely avoidable situation.
Today, Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom announced that it has cut off natural gas supplies to EU member states Poland and Bulgaria – after both countries failed to make payments in Russian rubles, as opposed to euros or US dollars.
It seems that the two countries did not take Russia’s previous warnings seriously enough, and now find themselves in a perilous situation – of energy deficit – a predicament which will have devastating consequences for their economies, and for the wider European Union economy.
While European countries were given a long warning period by Moscow about what would happen if they failed to pay for their gas, western politicians and mainstream media are now trying to shift the blame by framing this latest impasse as a result of Russia “dramatically escalating its response to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.”
Polish energy firm PGNiG stated that it had been informed by Gazprom that all gas deliveries through the Yamal pipeline will be suspended as of Wednesday morning.
In response, Bulgaria’s energy ministry issued a bizarre statement, saying that paying in rubles was unacceptable and somehow posed “significant risks” to Bulgaria. No clarification was given as to what that risk actually was.
Russia has also announced that it will continue to cut off more gas buyers that don’t pay in rubles,
As a result of the recent disruption caused by European sanctions against Russian energy and banks, European gas prices are up 24%, while the ruble has now reached a two-year high against the struggling euro.
In a statement made Wednesday, Gazprom said that it had fully halted supplies to the Polish gas carrier PGNiG, and also to Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz, after they refused to pay for their energy according to the terms of trade.
Gazprom fully halts gas supplies to Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz and Poland’s PGNiG due to their failure to pay in rubleshttps://t.co/TriIMjWpyB
— Gazprom (@GazpromEN) April 27, 2022
For the last month, Moscow has stated repeatedly that it wasn’t in a position to supply Europe with free energy should EU countries decide to stop paying for their natural gas.
The European Commission have described Russia’s announcement to halt supplies as “blackmail,” and quite bizarrely, are planning to respond to Moscow’s request for payments by having the EU levy even more sanctions against Russian institutions and interests.
A bewildered European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen remained in denial as to the reality of the situation, as evidenced by her bizarre ‘solidarity’ statement: “Europeans can trust that we stand united and in full solidarity with the member states impacted in the face of this new challenge. Europeans can count on our full support.”
Presently, tens of millions of residents across the EU and UK are now facing the inevitable reality of fuel poverty – as a direct result of their governments’ policy decision to sanction Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.
READ MORE UKRAINE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Ukraine Files
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