Naftogaz

Natural gas prices in Europe experienced a significant spike, surpassing 2% to reach 29 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh) on Monday. The surge came after reports emerged of a Russian attack on an underground natural gas storage facility in Ukraine. Despite the escalation, Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz assured that gas supplies to Ukrainian consumers remained unaffected.

Day 414 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

"Bulgaria is able to replace all gas supplies from Russia", Deputy Prime Minister Asen Vassilev told reporters in Brussels.

He visited the European Commission together with the Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov. The visit was due to Gazprom's decision to suspend gas for Bulgaria.

The situation in Ukraine has accelerated the process of gas exploration

Moldova and Ukraine have signed a contract to upgrade gas distribution stations for imports from Romania, stepping up preparations for potential supply disruptions as their gas contracts with Russia come close to expiring.

Representatives of the European Commission, Russia and Ukraine will talk today on gas issues despite the forthcoming two-month holiday of the EU Energy Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, TASS reported.

Russia will face a total annihilation for all its alleged misdeeds and disrespect for international law, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said, amid an escalated dispute between Russia's Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz.

The Ukrainian authorities have started the seizure of assets belonging to the Russian gas giant Gazprom, citing its alleged non-compliance with the decision of the Stockholm arbitration court.

After Russia's state gas company Gazprom on March 1 said it was terminating existing gas contracts with Ukraine, the dispute has again raised concerns about Serbia's energy dependence on the Kremlin.

Ukraine's new Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said his country will neither hold negotiations nor purchase fuels from Russia.

"We can build relations with any neighbor if they are not aggressors or murderers. If they are... what could we talk about?" UNIAN news agency quotes him as telling TV station 24.