Gas prices have soared after Russia further cut gas supplies to Germany and other central European countries after threatening to earlier this week, the BBC reports.
European gas prices rose 9%, trading close to its earlier all-time high after Russia launched military operation in Ukraine.
Critics accuse the Russian government of using gas as a political weapon.
Russia has been cutting flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany, with it now operating at less than a fifth of its normal capacity.
Germany imports 55% of its gas from Russia and most of it comes through Nord Stream 1 – with the rest coming from land-based pipelines.
Russian energy firm Gazprom has sought to justify the latest cut by saying it was needed to allow maintenance work on a turbine.
