Russian energy giant Gazprom on Wednesday halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland for failing to pay for gas in roubles, the Kremlin's toughest response yet to the crippling sanctions imposed by the West for the invasion of Ukraine.
Poland and Bulgaria are the first countries to have their gas cut off by Europe's main supplier since the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine that has killed thousands of people, displaced millions more and raised fears of a broader conflict.
Gazprom also warned that transit via Poland and Bulgaria - which host pipelines supplying Germany, Hungary and Serbia - would be cut if gas was taken illegally.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered European countries to pay for gas in roubles after what the West froze Russian assets and largely cut Moscow out of the West's economic system over the war in Ukraine.