Russia cuts gas to Finland

Gas supplies from Russia to Finland will be cut off on May 21 reuters

Reuters quoted the announcement of the state energy company Finland Gasum on May 20 said that the Russian gas company Gazprom announced that it will stop supplying gas to Finland from May 21 because the country refuses to pay in rubles.

“Unfortunately, natural gas supplies under our supply contract will now be paused,” Mika Wiljanen, Gasum CEO, said in a statement.

“However, we are well prepared for this situation and as the gas transmission network is not disrupted we will be able to supply gas to all our customers in the coming months,” said Wiljanen. added.

The gas flow to Finland is expected to be cut off at 7:00 on May 21 (local time). Most gas is used in Finland due to Russia provide. However, gas only accounts for about 5% of the annual energy consumption in the country.

Gasum on May 18 warned that supplies from Russia could be cut. The company said it will continue to supply gas to Finnish customers from other sources through the Balticconnector pipeline connecting Finland with Estonia.

Finland said on May 20 that it had agreed to lease a storage and regasification vessel from Excelerate Energy based in Germany. America starting in the fourth quarter of this year to help replace supply from Russia.

Gazprom did not comment on Gasum’s announcement. Before this announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 20 that Moscow has no details regarding Gazprom’s supply contracts. “But obviously nothing will be given to anyone for free,” Peskov said.

Russia has asked European countries to pay for gas in rubles. Most Russian gas supply contracts are denominated in euros or dollars. Last month, Russia cut off gas to Bulgaria and Poland because they refused to pay in rubles.

In another development, Ukraine on May 20 ordered the remaining soldiers who were entrenched in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol to lay down their weapons after nearly three months of resistance. Earlier, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers, including some senior commanders, were said to continue fighting, although the process of evacuating soldiers from the factory began on May 16.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on May 20 that nearly 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Azovstal had surrendered. However, Ukraine refused to confirm this number or say how many soldiers are still inside the factory for fear of affecting their rescue.