The European Union told Russia it would not give in to blackmail, after Moscow discontinued natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, which had refused to pay for natural gas in rubles. The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the Union had other options to make up for the suspended deliveries, and warned member states not to breach the sanctions imposed by the EU after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We have to guarantee alternative supplies and the best possible storage levels across the EU, Von der Leyen explained. EU member states have implemented emergency plans for such a scenario and we have worked together in coordination and solidarity, the EU official added.
