(Photo : Photo by JANEK SKARZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Polish authorities announced that the region's state gas said it was gradually working on returning the flow of natural gas to areas that have lost supply. The situation comes after Russia announced it would stop supplying gas to countries that do not want to pay in rubles.
Poland has slowly started to restart the flow of natural gas to areas within its territory after a Russian firm halted supplies following Moscow's cut of the product.
But with Poles and Bulgarians, who also had their supply cut off, worrying that their cookers and heaters will run dry, the rest of Europe was scrambling to respond after Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest announcements over its war on Ukraine. The leader said that his country would cut off the gas supply to major customers.
Russia's Gas Supply Blackmail
Last week, Moscow made the decision to stop the deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to both Bulgaria and Poland. The country's leaders have threatened to do the same thing to other nations if they offer their support to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It prompted accusations of blackmail by European nations and the United States.
Many see Putin's strategy as a warning to his opponents in Europe, who are unfortunately heavily reliant on Russia's gas supply and other petrochemical products. It is interpreted as telling them that if they do not want to pay in rubles, there would be no gas supply coming to them, as per Aljazeera.
On Friday, Poland's state gas said it was gradually working on bringing back the flow of natural gas to various municipalities in the region. The situation was caused by sanctions handed by Russia which were separate from the previous announcement of stopping gas deliveries to the region.
In a statement, PGNiG said that Russian firm Novatek Green Energy complied with the demand to make its pipelines available to Polish entities that were now trying to convey their gas to 10 affected areas. These include the popular Baltic Sea resort of Leba which was anxious about the lack of gas prior to Poland's long weekend through May 3.
According to the Associated Press, PGNiG said that the handing over of Novatek's infrastructure and the necessary documents took place "without problems and in good atmosphere." The statement added that all affected locations are expected to have gas again starting on Friday.
Effects of the Russia-Ukraine War
Government spokesman Piotr Muelle warned on Friday that Novatek could face legal action under the country's crisis management laws if it did not immediately comply. Russia's second-largest natural gas provider, OAO Novatek, controls a subsidiary of a group that was put earlier this week on Poland's list of sanctions against 50 Russian and Belarusian businesses.
However, some see Putin's actions and decisions, as well as his invasion of Ukraine, as putting his country's superpower status at risk. Western sanctions have restricted Moscow's access to technology and finance that is needed to help it drill oil from drawn-down, remote, and inhospitable Siberian and Arctic fields.
Furthermore, the departure of Western companies also cripples Russia's ability to produce ultra-lucrative liquefied natural gas for the next decade. It could be difficult for Moscow to find new places to sell its products. This is because the European Union is already discussing moving against oil in its sixth sanctions package this week, Politico reported.
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