I understand why Russia wants to penalize Poland and Bulgaria for their support of Ukraine, but honestly, how does it do the Russians any good to insist that they pay for gas in Rubles and then to cut them off when they insist on continuing to pay in Euros or Dollars?
Doesn't Russia need foreign currency to replenish its reserves have been frozen by sanctions? And isn't cutting those countries off from Russian gas just encourage them to find alternative (non-Russian) sources of energy?
Both Poland and Bulgaria say they have secured enough alternative sources of gas to prevent serious shortages. This just means that Russia is cutting off two of its remaining foreign income streams while making it more likely that they will never get their Polish and Bulgarian customers back when this is over.
