Gazprom cuts natural gas flow to Poland and Bulgaria after they refused to pay in rubles.

Russia halted its natural gas flows to Bulgaria and Poland on Wednesday, state-run Gazprom announced, in an apparent response to a decision by the U.S. and its allies to supply more weapons and aid to Ukraine.

Gazprom said it stopped deliveries of the fuel to the two nations because they refused to pay in rubles, a new condition the company set last month.

The move from Russia marks a significant shift in the conflict in Ukraine with Moscow now apparently using energy as a weapon to target Europe. Poland and Bulgaria, both members of NATO, are heavily reliant on natural gas.

Poland’s energy supplier PGNiG confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that Russia gas supplies to the country had been cut off, saying it “will manage” with the supply. Read more

@nytimes