Russian president, Vladimir Putin announced that it will supply gases to ‘unfriendly countries’ only in rubles, the Russian currency.

Russia has refused to accept the payment for natural gas supplies in ‘compromised’ currencies, including the dollar and the euro, and will move to payments in rubles.

The measure is the first serious response from Moscow to sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and its allies over the conflict in Ukraine. A number of steps have been taken by the Western countries to isolate Russia from their financial systems. Major Russian banks have been cut off from the SWIFT payment network, making it difficult for the country to continue transactions in euros and US dollars.

These have been the major and drastic steps taken by President, Vladimir Putin to create pressure on the Western countries after the Ukrainian invasion. The ruble payment demand from the European nations has potentially aggravated Europe’s worst energy crunch since the 1970s.

The gases price has also soared more than 30% after President Putin ordered the central bank to develop a mechanism to make ruble payments for natural gas within a week at a meeting with his government.

Putin’s move showed a growing willingness on both sides to use Russian energy supplies as a weapon in the struggle between Moscow and the West over the war in Ukraine. These developments weren’t immediately clear, but demanding payment in rubles, Putin is essentially forcing European companies to directly prop up his currency after it was sent into free-fall by the sanctions placed on the Russian economy. The ruble has gained 7% against the dollar Wednesday.

The biggest buyers of Russian gas, Germany and Italy are facing a massive crunch in their energy sources. And claims it to be a breach of the contract. Through this move, Putin has weakened Europe’s sanction regime. This can also serve as the by-product, as Russia was facing a financial crunch from the war and in past few weeks, it saw just 1% export of its gases.

This announcement has made it possible to again climb up the ladder of finance from its crisis. Also, to prove itself strong again against the UN general and against the Western sanctions