Russia's Gazprom: Gas shipments through Ukraine fell to 78.3 million cubic meters

Russia's state gas producer "Gazprom" said in a statement today, Saturday, that it supplies natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in accordance with the requests of European consumers.

The company added that requests amounted to 78.3 million cubic meters on the ninth of April;

Down from 91.3 million cubic meters the day before.

Russia has recently been suffering under the weight of dramatic economic sanctions.

Although energy trade continues, it is effectively cut off from the global financial system.

On Friday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyal announced Kyiv's intention to nationalize the property of the Russian government and state on Ukrainian soil in compensation for the losses of the war, which cost Kyiv more than 86 million dollars a day.

In Washington, the US Treasury announced sanctions against the Russian state-owned company Alrosa, the world's largest diamond mining company, responsible for 90% of diamond mining operations in Russia.

The US Treasury also re-listed the Russian government-owned shipbuilding company USC and its subsidiaries on the sanctions list.

A ministry statement stated that the company develops and builds most of the Russian warships.

The US Treasury said the sanctions were part of ongoing efforts to restrict the Kremlin's access to assets and resources necessary to supply the war in Ukraine.

deepest economic recession

Meanwhile, Reuters quoted the British government as saying that Russia is heading for the deepest economic recession since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Perhaps the exchange rate of the ruble (the local currency of Russia) has nominally recovered and returned to its pre-war level.

But its actual market value is speculative, there is no longer a free market in rubles or Russian financial assets, and the withdrawal of Western companies from Russia has exacerbated the shock, and even if a ceasefire is reached, the prospects for Russia's long-term development are bleak, according to observers.

The leaders of the Group of Seven and the European Union took measures on March 24 to continue economic sanctions and prevent the Russian Central Bank from using its international reserves, including gold, to block war financing.

It is estimated that 60% of the international reserves of the Russian Central Bank have been frozen by Western countries.