While European leaders have vowed to wean themselves off Kremlincontrolled supplies, both of gas and oil, the reality is that this is very hard to do in short order.
There will be at least one more winter to come before major energy-hungry economies that rely heavily on Russia, such as Germany and Italy, can tap other sources.
Knowing this, Vladimir Putin fired a shot across the bows this week.
Having issued a decree that foreign buyers must start paying for their gas in roubles, he made Poland and Bulgaria the laboratory mice for the experiment.
Why Poland and Bulgaria?
The two countries appear to have been chosen carefully. Poland gets about 45% of its natural gas from Russia. That's not sky-high by European standards but Poland is among the countries that have been the most politically and militarily supportive of Ukraine.
Bulgaria poses less of a threat to the Russian war effort but is more reliant on its gas, which accounts for about 73% of demand.
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