Russia threatens to block gas to other countries
besides Poland and Bulgaria if supplies are not paid for in rubles.
"If anyone refuses to pay under the new system, the Russian president's decree will be implemented," Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said, according to Interfax.
Previously, the president of the Duma Vyacheslav Volodin had said that Moscow
should suspend the supply of gas not only to Bulgaria and Poland, but also to other hostile countries.
"Gazprom has completely suspended the supply of gas to Bulgaria and Poland. The same should be done with regard to countries hostile towards us," Volodin said today on Telegram.
Russia continues to supply natural gas to Austria "without restrictions" even after the stop for Poland and Bulgaria and will continue to pay in euros.
This was announced today by the Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler (Verdi).
Asked if there were any signs of a stop in gas deliveries to Austria, she said: "No, we don't have these signals", stating that the Austrian energy group OMV will continue payments "in accordance with the sanctions via euro" .
Igor Volobuev, vice president of state-owned Gazprombank, announced that he fled Russia to fight alongside Ukrainian forces
, making him the fourth senior executive or official known to have made an abrupt exit from the country.
The Moscow Times writes it.
Volobuev specified that he left Russia on March 2 and joined the Ukrainian territorial defense forces.
"I couldn't watch what Russia was doing to my homeland," said Volobuev, born in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Okhtyrka.
Gazprom announced that it has completely suspended gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria
due to the non-payment of gas in rubles at the end of yesterday.
Gazprom has informed Bulgargaz and Pgnig, its Bulgarian and Polish counterparts, that flows will remain suspended until payments in rubles are received.
As Poland and Bulgaria are states of transit for gas to third countries, Gazprom also warned the two countries that in the event of unauthorized withdrawal of Russian gas destined for third countries, transit supplies will be reduced by a similar amount.
Four European buyers have already paid for Gazprom gas in rubles and ten have opened the accounts with Gazprombank needed to comply with Moscow's request to pay in local currency.
Bloomberg reports, citing sources close to Gazprom.
The interruption of Russian gas supplies
to Bulgaria by Gazprom due to Moscow's request to change the payment currency represents a
serious breach
of the contract and amounts to blackmail: the
Bulgarian Prime Minister
, Kiril Petkov said, according to what reports the Guardian.
Petkov said Bulgaria is reviewing all its contracts with Gazprom, including those relating to the transit of Russian gas to Serbia and Hungary, because "unilateral blackmail is not acceptable".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky
, in his nightly message to the nation
accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of wanting to dismember and redraw the borders of Central and Western Europe
.
"The ultimate goal of the Russian leadership is not just to seize the territory of Ukraine, but to dismember the whole of Central and Eastern Europe and deal a global blow to democracy," the Ukrainian president said according to international media.
Zelensky: 'Putin wants to dismember Central and Eastern Europe'
"The dialogue with Prime Minister Mario Draghi continues. I reported on progress in repelling Russian aggression. We are grateful for Italy's involvement in the investigation into crimes against humanity committed by Russia. We also appreciate the support to strengthen the sanctions against the aggressor ", writes on Twitter the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky referring to a conversation with the Italian premier.
"There is no sincere sign from Russia that it wants to dialogue for a solution to the conflict in Ukraine," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told CNN, reiterating that negotiations with Moscow for the release of the former Marine Trevor Reed did not lead to a broader discussion of the conflict.
"Moscow's threat of a proportional military response against NATO countries is illegitimate after the United Kingdom has given its support to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory with weapons supplied by London".
British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said this, returning to yesterday's heated exchange between Downing Street and the Kremlin.
"Gazprom's announcement to unilaterally block gas deliveries to some member states is another provocation from the Kremlin" but "
our response will be immediate, united and coordinated".
This was stated by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
, during a press point.
"We are not surprised that the Kremlin uses fossil fuels to try to blackmail us, the European Commission has prepared for this in close coordination and solidarity with member states and international partners. We will ensure that Gazprom's decision has the least possible impact. on EU consumers ", he stressed.
The village of Zaitseve and the community of Svitlodarsk, in the Donetsk region, were bombed in the night with cluster munitions
.
This was reported by the military and civil regional administrations in a report released this morning on the situation throughout Ukraine, quoted by Ukrinform.
The document reports that Russian troops used cluster munitions in the territorial community of Svitlodarsk and in the village of Zaitseve.
The settlements of Marinka, Krasnohorivka, Vuhledar and Lyman were continuously bombarded with artillery systems.
An attack on an ammunition depot in Russia and a Ukrainian raid on the Snake Island, where Putin placed his Stena-10 missiles, marked the war in Ukraine in the last few hours, after a day marked by increased tension between NATO and Moscow and from clashes in Transnistria that raise fears of a widening of the conflict.
In essence, yesterday's talks between the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the Russian leaders failed.
Russian forces bombed the city of Avdiivka, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, twice with phosphorus ammunition
: last night and this morning.
This was reported by the head of the regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, according to reports from Ukrainska Pravda.
"The Russians hit Avdiivka twice with phosphorus ammunition. First they attacked last night in the vicinity of the Avdiivka coke plant and this morning, in the city center. Following the two bombings (with artillery pieces, ed.) , several fires have broken out in the city, "Kyrylenko said.
Lugansk regional authorities reported that a Russian raid today hit the Severdonetsk hospital
, where there were several patients, and a woman died.
Ukrinform reports it.
"There are only two functioning hospitals left in the region, in Severdonetsk and Lysychansk", and "today" the Russians "deliberately opened fire on the Severdonetsk hospital. They knew that the hospital was not empty, there were patients and doctors" Lugansk governor Serhiy Haidai said, adding that "several floors of the building were damaged".
ANSA agency
Ukraine, the chronicle of the day - World
The Ukrainian Armed Forces hit Russian positions on the Snake Island, hitting the command post and destroying the Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system.
(HANDLE)
After a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov, Guterres spoke for an hour with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, on the umpteenth call for a ceasefire, replied that there will be no peace until Crimea and Donbass return. to Russia.
The Pope also talks about the conflict, in a message to a Catholic congress. "Every war is born of injustice", he said, adding that "it is sad to see that humanity is unable to think with schemes and projects of peace".
ANSA agency
The mutation of Putin's war - World
It is not just about the invasion of Ukraine now.
The war wanted by Vladimir Putin has undergone a rapid and disturbing mutation that makes the near and distant future full of fears and anguish.
(HANDLE)
British Foreign Minister Liz Truss is preparing to reiterate, in an anticipated speech last night, her intention to push the West to rearm in the face of the Russian offensive, a position already expressed yesterday in a summit convened by the United States with the allies.
A position against which Moscow immediately responded by threatening attacks and reprisals even in the territories of the NATO countries.
German Chancellor Sholz also gives in to Kiev's request for weapons to which he will send 50 state-of-the-art tanks.
Meanwhile, at 8 this morning, Moscow is preparing to shut off the gas taps in Poland and Bulgaria, due to the refusal by those governments to pay for supplies in rubles.
Zelensky raises the nuclear alarm by accusing the Russians of indiscriminately targeting nuclear sites in Ukraine,
including that of Chernobyl, risking to "push the world to the brink of disaster", a danger that he believes is far from over.
This is why he called for "a global control over Russian nuclear equipment and technology".
Turkey hopes that the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will take place "in the next few days"
: Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said after yesterday's summit in Ramstein in Germany.
"We hope that, despite some difficulties, the two leaders can meet in the coming days thanks to the proposals of our president Recep Tayyip Erdogan," said Akar, quoted by Tass.
Yesterday Erdogan heard Putin by telephone, reiterating his invitation to host a summit between the two warring presidents in Turkey.
