The news came in close succession on Tuesday night - state-owned Gazprom will cease gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria from Wednesday morning.
Russia is thus realizing the threats to cut off gas supplies to those countries that do not pay in rubles.
The currency demand is seen as a way to strengthen the ruble after the extensive economic sanctions imposed on Russia from the West.
Poland: Has reserves
However, the Polish gas reserves are good and consumers will not be affected by the restricted gas supply, the Polish government states.
"There will be no gas shortage in Polish homes," writes Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa on Twitter.
The Bulgarian government, for its part, writes that it will try to find alternative gas suppliers.
To date, Russia has accounted for 90 percent of the country's gas supply.
Imports liquefied gas
The threat of restricted gas supplies has hung over the EU for weeks.
The European Commission has tried in various ways to reduce dependence, including by purchasing large quantities of liquefied natural gas from the United States.
- Russia gets paid according to the contract, which says euro or dollar, not rubles.
We do not intend to be blackmailed by Putin, Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European Commission, has previously told SVT's Agenda.