Since April 1, President Vladimir Putin has been demanding that their gas be paid for in rubles by "unfriendly countries."

But since the EU sanctions were introduced on April 8, member states are not allowed to buy Russian gas in rubles as it in turn involves the Russian central bank which is the target of sanctions.

On Wednesday, Russia throttled the gas to Poland and Bulgaria as they did not pay in rubles.

Poland has stated to the BBC that they can do without Russian gas and have other alternatives, Bulgaria for its part believes that Russia has committed breach of contract as they have already paid for the gas - but also adds that they are looking for alternatives.

Hungary announced on Thursday that it agrees with Putin's demands as, according to Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, they will not be able to do without their gas - and will not do so for several years.

- 85 percent of our gas deliveries come from Russia, and 65 percent of our oil deliveries come from Russia.

Why?

Because this is determined by infrastructure.

It's not fun, we have not chosen this situation, says Szijjártó.

Germany and Austria are circumventing sanctions

According to the Financial Times, the Austrian energy group OMV is preparing to open ruble accounts at Gazprombank in Switzerland.

German energy group Uniper says it will continue to buy Russian gas, but in euros, CNN reports.

"Uniper is in talks with its contractual partner about the specific methods of payment and is also in close coordination with the German government," the company said in a statement.

Germany was the largest buyer of Russian energy during the first two months of the war, writes the BBC.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defends the country's gas purchases.

"It is a challenge that many European countries, including Germany, are dependent on imports of fossil resources from Russia," he said.

Italy: "Independent within 18 months"

Italy has said it is working to stop buying Russian gas altogether, the country's eco-conversion minister Roberto Cingolani says the start of independence will be in 18 months.

"We must stop gas supplies from Russia for ethical reasons," Minister Roberto Cingolani told La Stampa newspaper after visiting Angola and Congo to look for new energy agreements to reduce his dependence on Russia, which accounts for about 45 percent of Italy's gas supply. .

"Europe's dependence on Russian gas has been a major geopolitical mistake for the past 20 years," he told the newspaper.

But until Italy finds energy from elsewhere, they too will open an account in Gazprombank, according to Financial Time.

EU: "A breach of sanctions"

The EU has warned European buyers to accept the Kremlin's demands.

"Complying with the requirement is a violation of sanctions," European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said in a statement on Thursday.

The warning, which is clearer than previous sanctions guidelines from Brussels, comes on Thursday after several European companies indicated that they would accept the Russian demand.

It is about opening ruble and euro accounts at Gazprombank in Russia.

Under current payment systems, most European companies paid in euros to Gazprombank's Luxembourg-based accounts.

According to the guidelines, companies can pay in euros, but the EU does not accept that companies are obliged to open a second account in rubles and that the payment is only completed when the payment is converted to rubles, reports the Financial Times.