Russia will stop supplying gas to Finland after its refusal to pay in rubles, marking the third European country cut off by Moscow

Russia will stop the supply of natural gas to Finns after the energy company Gasum said it wouldn't pay in rubles to comply with demands from Moscow.

Gasum said in a statement on Friday that natural gas imports to Finland will be suspended on Saturday at 7 a.m. Gasum said it will deliver natural gas to customers from other sources through the Balticconnector line.

Mika Wiljanen, Gasum's CEO, said in the statement that it is regrettable that natural gas supplies will now be halted.

Gasum said this week that it would take its contract dispute with Russia to an international tribunal.

Poland and Bulgaria were shut out of gas supplies in late April for refusing to pay using Russia's local currency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered unfriendly countries to use rubles to pay for Russian gas, even though contracts generally required dollar-based transactions. He made the move after the Western nations imposed financial sanctions against Moscow.

Poland and Bulgaria refused to pay for gas supplies, saying that Russia's demand would be a violation of their contract and that they would dodge sanctions on Russia's central bank.

Europe has been dependent on Russian energy for decades, with Moscow supplying 40% of the region's gas needs.

The Dutch futures contracts tracked Europe's wholesale gas price fell on Friday, according to data from Investing.com.