Russia has suspended natural gas supplies to Finland since Saturday as Helsinki moves forward with efforts to join NATO in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finnish energy company Gasum said on Friday that it had been informed by Russian energy giant Gazprom that it would cut off gas supplies the next day.
The announcement comes when Russia is urging Finland to pay for natural gas in rubles, which Finland has refused to do.
It also adds a new layer to the escalating energy battle between Russia and much of Europe, fueled by the war in Ukraine.
The European Union earlier this month proposed a ban on oil imports from Russia. This week, the EU unveiled further details on its plan to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas.
Russia has already cut off gas to Poland and Bulgaria.
President Biden welcomed the efforts of Finland and Sweden to join NATO decades after the bloc. Both sides have taken steps to join the military alliance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February. The leaders of Sweden and Finland met with Biden at the White House on Thursday.
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Gasum said in a statement that it would supply natural gas to its customers from other sources on Saturday through the Balticconnector pipeline, which runs between Finland and Estonia.
Gasum CEO Mika Villanen said in a statement that the shutdown was “unfortunate”, but said the company should still be able to supply gas to consumers.
“We have been carefully preparing for this situation and, provided there are no disruptions in the gas transmission network, we will be able to supply all our customers with gas in the coming months,” Villanen said.
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