As announced, Russia has turned off the gas supply to Poland.

Actual gas flow through the Yamal pipeline from Belarus to Poland was zero kilowatt-hours as of 4:07 a.m. Wednesday morning, data from the European Network of Transmission System Operators shows.

Poland's climate minister, Anna Moskwa, said the effects of the delivery stop were small.

Since the first days of the Ukrainian war, Warsaw has declared that it is ready for full independence from Russian raw materials.

Polish Government Commissioner for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski assured that gas will continue to flow to Germany via Nord Stream 1.

The security of supply in Germany is currently still guaranteed, said a spokeswoman for Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) on Tuesday evening after the news from Poland.

"We are monitoring the situation closely." Bulgaria has also taken steps towards alternative gas supplies, the Energy Ministry said in Sofia.

Bulgarian Energy Minister Aleksandar Nikolov wants to comment on the halt to the supply of natural gas from Russia on Wednesday.

Russia moves armed forces to attack zone

According to Ukrainian information, the Russian armed forces have moved troops from Russia to the attack area in order to accelerate the offensive in eastern Ukraine.

"In order to reinforce the troops, the occupiers transferred two tactical battalions of the 76th Airborne Division from the Belgorod region to the city of Izyum," the Ukrainian General Staff said on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

In addition, two more Iskander-M missile divisions have been set up in the Russian border region of Belgorod.

According to the situation report, the Russian troops were able to gain some ground in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.

South of the small town of Izyum they captured the village of Zavody and advanced to the northern outskirts of the village of Velyka Komyshuvah.

Both places are already on the south side of the river Siwerskyi Donets, which the troops have crossed with it.

The further advance of the Russian troops towards the south is aimed at encircling the Ukrainian troops in the Donbass.

There was also fierce fighting on the front line around Donetsk.

Russian troops launched attacks in the direction of Sieverodonetsk, Popasna, Kurakhove and Liman, capturing the towns of Zarichne and Novotoshkivske, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

The bombing of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol continues.

Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24.

After the Russian military first invaded the neighboring country from the north, south and east, the troops in front of Kyiv later withdrew to intensify the attacks in the east.

A Russian commander last week named control of the Donbass and all of southern Ukraine as Moscow's war goal.

According to the Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine could drag on for many months.

If, for example, active combat operations in the Donbass are stopped after the current offensive and positions are taken up, this does not mean the end of the war, said Arestovych in a YouTube interview, as reported by the Ukrainian agency Unian.

The weapons newly received by Ukraine could have a "serious impact" on the fighting in late May or early June.

The war itself could last until the end of the year.

The Ukrainian armed forces are also prepared for a possible attack by Russian troops from the Moldovan separatist region of Transnistria.

That's what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Kyiv.

The strength of these troops is known and the Ukrainian armed forces are not afraid of them.

A contingent of Russian soldiers is stationed in Transnistria.

Zelenskyj's video message

According to Zelenskyy, Moscow's goals go far beyond Ukraine.

"The ultimate goal of the Russian leadership is not only the conquest of Ukraine, but the destruction of the entire center and eastern Europe," Zelenskyy said in his evening video message, which was published on Telegram on Wednesday night.

A “global strike against democracy” is also part of the goal.

In view of the burdens also caused by the Ukraine war, the Union called on the federal government to provide a comprehensive relief package for the economy.

In a Bundestag motion, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group advocates, among other things, a "moratorium on tax burdens", tax relief and more flexible labor law regulations.

The competitiveness and sustainability of the economy must be strengthened.

The application is to be discussed in the Bundestag on Thursday.

The focus of the Bundestag session is on Russia's war against Ukraine and its consequences.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) answers questions from MPs.

It should again be a question of whether and which heavy weapons Germany will make available to Ukraine.

The federal cabinet also wants to pass a billion-euro relief package because of the sharp rise in energy prices.