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The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen

Ursula von der Leyen - German doctor and politician (née Albrecht). Ursula Gertrude Albrecht has warned today of an escalation of the energy crisis while the EU remains in strained relations with Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

"Since Russia has already completely or partially cut gas supplies to 12 EU member states, we must all be prepared for a worsening of the situation," she said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper "Mundo", quoted by DPA.

Russia recently stopped gas supplies to some European countries, including Poland, Bulgaria, and as of Saturday, Latvia, because of their refusal to pay in rubles for the blue fuel.

The requirement to pay in rubles for gas supplies is linked to the Kremlin's attempts to soften the impact of Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The EU countries agreed on an extraordinary restriction of gas consumption

Russia also limited supplies to Germany, the EU's leading economic power, because of maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, seen as a response to Western sanctions.

Growing energy concerns prompted the EU to adopt an emergency winter gas plan last week.

These measures are aimed "to help us secure the necessary gas supplies in winter," said Ursula von der Leyen

Ursula von der Leyen - German doctor and politician (née Albrecht). Ursula Gertrude Albrecht is.

"In just one week, the EU has agreed to take a decisive and unprecedented step to counter Putin's threats to completely cut off gas supplies," she stressed.

Ursula von der Leyen

energy crisis

gas supplies