Zelenskyy says Russia waging 'overt gas war' as Gazprom squeezes supplies

Energy supplies via Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to be reduced to 20 per cent of capacity

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia is trying to break European unity over the war. Getty

The Kremlin is waging an "overt gas war" in an attempt to break Europe's united front over the invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said after a further squeeze in Russian energy exports.

Gas exporter Gazprom said it was shutting down a turbine on the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany, bringing supplies down to 33 million cubic metres a day — about 20 per cent of capacity.

Germany and the EU said they saw no technical reason for the reduction, which begins on Thursday, suggesting Gazprom's explanations about a lack of maintenance at a compressor station were a smokescreen.

Supplies via Nord Stream had already dropped to 40 per cent last month and came to a 10-day standstill during maintenance last week.

The reduced supply calls into question whether Germany and Europe can fill up their gas tanks in time for winter, with EU countries negotiating on Tuesday over a potential 15 per cent cut in consumption.

"All this is done by Russia deliberately to make it as difficult as possible for Europeans to prepare for winter," Mr Zelenskyy said in an overnight address in which he described the Kremlin's tactics as blackmail.

"This is an overt gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe — this is exactly how it should be perceived. And they don't care what will happen to the people, how they will suffer — from hunger due to the blocking of ports or from winter cold and poverty."

Mr Zelenskyy said the EU should hit back with tougher sanctions to reduce Moscow's revenue from gas, oil and other exports.

Kadri Simson, the EU commissioner in charge of energy, said state-owned Gazprom's announcement on Monday was politically motivated and showed that a Russian supply cut could "come at any moment".

She said she was hopeful of a deal on reducing gas consumption despite some countries seeking to water the proposal down, because they already use less energy or are not connected to the main European power grid.

"We have to tackle this crisis right now and together," Ms Simson said. "We will reduce our demand pre-emptively — that allows us to continue the filling of our underground gas storage."

The EU's storage tanks are about 66 per cent full on average, meaning more gas is needed to reach the commission's target of 80 per cent before winter.

Maria Shagina, an energy expert at the International Institute of Security Studies, said a 20 per cent supply via Nord Stream would mean Europe could hit about 75 to 80 per cent storage.

But there is no guarantee that Russian supplies will not fall further, and senior German and EU officials have given a warning that a complete cut-off is possible.

Some EU members including Bulgaria, Poland and Finland had their supplies completely cut off by Moscow for refusing to pay in roubles, a demand seen by western powers as a breach of contract.

Energy-saving measures already introduced on the continent include cutting back on air conditioning, lowering the temperature at swimming pools and encouraging people to take shorter showers.