Putin Orders Immediate Halt to Gas Supplies to Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government on March 4 to work out the immediate cessation of Russian gas supplies to Europe. This decision is linked to declared threats from Kyiv, with Western support, to blow up the TurkStream and Blue Stream gas pipelines. Putin called such threats "a very dangerous game." As a retaliatory measure and alternative, it was proposed to reorient gas supplies to other markets. This direct order from the country's top leadership indicates an escalation of the energy and geopolitical confrontation between Russia and Europe, which could lead to an immediate and profound crisis in the European energy market.