Russia is cutting off Denmark's supplies of natural gas as its invasion of Ukraine causes huge changes in global energy flows

Russian energy giant Gazprom is cutting off supplies of natural gas to Danes because it refused to pay in rubles.

Russia has stopped supplies to several countries, including the Netherlands, because they haven't paid in their currency.

It doesn't expect the move to have a significant impact on energy security. Western countries had already begun to decrease their dependence on Russian energy sources after the country invaded Ukraine. Some imposed sanctions on Russia's energy sector in order to cut off funding for its military.

The largest energy company in the world stopped supplies because it hadn't paid in rubles.

President Putin said in March that Russia would require unfriendly countries to pay for its gas. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that Putin's policy was a clear violation of contract and an attempt to circumvent the sanctions.

It was not an obligation to pay for Russian gas in rubles and would continue to pay in euros.

The company said it had supplied 1.97 billion cubic meters of natural gas. It claimed that around two-thirds of the Danes natural gas consumption was made up of this.

The availability of gas in the country wouldn't be affected by the move by Gazprom. There is an emergency plan in place.

Russia couldn't cut off the country's gas supplies because there wasn't a direct gas line from Russia toDenmark.

Mads Nipper, the CEO, said that they still expect to be able to supply gas to their customers despite the fact that they refuse to pay in rubles.

One of its biggest gas fields was closed in September for renovations.

A new gas line from Norway is expected to open later this year, and the Tyra gas field is expected to reopen in mid-2023, making Danes a net exporter of gas again. In April of last year, Tyra accounted for over a third of the Danes gas production.

Almost 40% of the EU's natural gas imports came from Russia in 2011.

The EU imports vast swathes of its oil supplies from Russia, but the EU announced a ban on Russian oil on Monday, which von der Leyen said would effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.

Western countries have been scrambling to fill the gap after cutting off Russian supplies.