MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Reverse gas supplies via the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline from Germany to Poland soared more than five-fold early on April 27, according to the information provided by the gas transport operator Gascade. This followed the suspension of gas supplies from Russia to Poland.

Gas pumping via the pipeline from Germany to Poland went up 5.2-fold to 1.23 mln cubic meters per hour.

Meanwhile, the direct physical gas flow via Yamal-Europe from Poland to Germany through the compressor station in Mallnow has been zero for 21 days. It is formed as the difference between renominations (revised requests) for direct and reverse supply (reverse to Poland).

Gazprom said earlier it had fully suspended gas supplies to the Bulgarian company Bulgargaz and the Polish PGNiG due to their failure to pay in rubles in due time.

On April 26, Gazprom submitted to Polish and Bulgarian importing companies a notification on suspension of gas supplies starting April 27 due to their refusal to make final payments in Russian rubles.

President Vladimir Putin Putin ordered on March 23 that unfriendly states must pay for Russian gas in rubles, saying that Moscow would refuse to accept payments under gas contracts with those states in "compromised" currencies, particularly meaning dollars and euros.

According to figures provided by the Russian Federal Customs Service, Russian gas supplies to Poland increased by 9.4% in 2021 to 10.58 bln cubic meters, while deliveries to Bulgaria doubled last year to 3.15 bln cubic meters.

Poland uses around 20 bln cubic meters of gas per year. Warsaw claims it has found the possibility to abandon Russian gas through purchasing liquified natural gas from the United States and Qatar, as well as gas supplies from offshore Norway.