Russia has cut off gas supplies to Finland, the latest escalation in a dispute over energy payments with the West.
At 04:00 GMT on Saturday, Russia’s gas giant Gazprom confirmed that exports to Finland had been completely halted.
Finland stated that all deliveries had ceased, but that customers would be unaffected.
Helsinki has refused to pay for its supplies in Russian roubles. However, the cut-off coincides with Finland’s announcement that it will apply for Nato membership.
Despite its February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russia continues to supply gas to many European countries.
Following Western sanctions against Russia for the war, Russia stated that “unfriendly” countries must pay for gas in Russian currency, a move the EU regards as blackmail.
Many consumers’ reliance on Russian energy is contributing to the cost-of-living crisis.
The majority of Finland’s gas is imported from Russia, but gas accounts for less than a tenth of the country’s energy consumption.
Gas supplies through the Imatra entry point were cut off on May 21, according to a statement issued by the Finnish state-owned company Gasgrid Finland on Saturday.
“The amount of gas required by the Finnish gas market is imported into the Finnish gas system via the Balticconnector entry point in accordance with market parties’ nominations. Gasgrid Finland has directed gas imports through the Balticconnector, and the gas system is now balanced “It stated.
Earlier, the Russian move was described as “highly regrettable” by the Finnish state-owned energy firm Gasum.
“However, we have been carefully preparing for this situation and provided that there will be no disruptions in the gas transmission network, we will be able to supply all our customers with gas in the coming months,” Gasum CEO Mika Wiljanen said in a statement.