The Russian ambassador in Cairo, Georgy Borisienko, stated that his country would halt gas supplies to Europe if sanctions are imposed on Moscow. This comes as sanctions against Russia intensify amid the economic blockade it faces from countries around the world following its invasion of Ukrainian territory. The latest sanctions announced by South Korea and Singapore include a ban on selling strategic products to Moscow and preventing it from using the global SWIFT system.
Borisienko's statement is the first official indication of using gas in the ongoing war in Eastern Europe, as Europe heavily relies on Russian gas, with an average dependence of about 35%. Some European countries depend entirely on Russian gas, while Germany relies on 50% of it. The Russian ruble fell by more than 41% against the dollar in early trading on Monday after Western countries announced the disconnection of major Russian banks from the SWIFT network. So far this month, the dollar has risen by 53.77% against the ruble.
Western countries have announced new sanctions against Russia in recent hours, aiming to isolate and exclude dozens of Russian banks from the global SWIFT financial system following severe sanctions due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. A senior U.S. official stated that these sanctions would make Russia "outcast and crippled." More than 11,000 financial institutions in over 200 countries around the world use this financial transfer system.
