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On Wednesday, Ukraine’s pipeline operator was forced to shut off gas from parts of Ukraine under the control of Russian troops—the latest in a series of energy-related disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to POLITICO Pro.

Reports of Russian gas theft: Ukraine’s state-owned gas company Naftogaz said, “Ukraine no longer bears responsibility for the transmission of Russian gas through Ukrainian territories under Russian military occupation.”

• There are also accusations of Russian interference with the pipelines, “including unauthorized gas offtakes from the gas transit flows, endanger[ing] the stability and safety of the entire Ukrainian gas transportation system.”

By the numbers: Close to one-third of Russian energy to the EU flows through Ukraine, while the EU gets about 40% of its gas from Russia.

• The stoppage caused the flow of Russian gas through Ukraine to the EU to drop by 25%—significant enough to cause a slight jump in gas prices Wednesday morning before returning to earlier levels.

Beyond Ukraine: “Gazprom also halted deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria last month after they balked at Kremlin demands to modify gas contracts and pay in rubles.”

• “When Gazprom ended deliveries to Poland, it warned that it reserved the right to continue sending gas to other customers through Polish pipelines.”

The NAM says: “What we are seeing today impacts us all and reminds us how important our domestic energy production is to energy security, household expenses, manufacturing competitiveness—even food production,” said NAM Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy Rachel Jones.

• “There may have never been a more important time to increase domestic energy production to drive down inflation at home and also strengthen the resolve of our allies abroad.”
• “We can’t afford to sit on the sidelines watching when we have the energy reserves to strengthen our allies and secure democracy.”