Russia has stopped providing gas to both Poland and Bulgaria from Wednesday 27th April, in retaliation to their refusal to pay for Russian gas supplies in roubles. While these countries have depended on Russia for more than half of their gas in the past, their success in rapidly finding alternative sources have rendered Putin’s attempts to weaponizing his energy sector increasingly redundant. Poland’s state-controlled gas group, PGNiG, confirmed the “complete suspension” of supplies under its ‘Yamal Contract’ on Tuesday, stating that Russia’s Gazprom had informed it that it would come into effect from 8am on April 27. Later that day, Bulgargaz, PGNiG’s Bulgarian counterpart, announced the same, claiming that it had already taken steps to find alternative imports for natural…