The Russian company Gazprom has decided to suspend its gas shipments to Bulgaria and Poland starting Wednesday, as announced by these countries on Tuesday evening, confirming their preparedness for this scenario. The Polish oil and gas group "PGNiG" stated that "on April 26, PGNiG was informed by Gazprom that it would suspend all deliveries under the Yamal contract starting April 24," noting that Poland is ready to secure its gas needs from other sources.
Additionally, the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy announced on Tuesday evening that "today, Bulgargaz received a notification that deliveries from Gazprom will be suspended starting April 27, 2022," while this country relies heavily on Russian gas. Despite this, both NATO and EU member countries assert they are prepared to obtain the missing gas from alternative sources. Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa tweeted, "There will be no gas shortage in Polish homes," adding, "From day one of the war, we have said we are ready for complete independence from Russian raw materials."
For its part, the Bulgarian government stated that "measures have been taken to find alternative arrangements for obtaining natural gas and to handle the situation," confirming that it is not planning "at the moment" to impose any restrictions on consumption. Following sanctions on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin warned EU countries that their gas supplies would be cut off if they did not pay in rubles from Russian accounts. The Bulgarian government responded by saying that "the Bulgarian side has fulfilled its obligations fully and has made all required payments under the contract on time." It condemned the "new payment process proposed by the Russian side," adding that "Russia is not adhering to the current contract until the end of this year and poses significant risks to the Bulgarian side, especially regarding payments without receiving gas shipments from the Russian side."
