Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has delivered his nightly video message only hours after Russia cut off Bulgaria and Poland from its gas supply.
Zelensky labelled the move as “energy blackmail” and stressed that “no one in Europe can hope to maintain any normal economic cooperation with Russia”.
The president went on to say that “Russia considers not only gas, but any trade as a weapon. It is just waiting for the moment when one or another trade area can be used.”
Zelensky urged European nations to distance themselves from Russia and to find alternative trading partners.
This comes as the Russian gas giant Gazprom says it’s stopped all gas supplies “until payment is made” in Russian Rubles.
But Bulgaria’s Energy Minister says the country has paid for its gas deliveries for April. It says halting gas supplies would be a breach of its current contract with the supplier.
