Russia says oil flows to three European countries have been halted.

In one other signal of the fragility of Europe’s dependence on Russian vitality, the state-owned pipeline operator stated Tuesday that oil had stopped flowing by means of the southern department of the primary hyperlink to Jap Europe.

Transneft, which controls Russia’s stretch of the pipeline, stated its July cost to the Ukrainian operator of the artery, Ukrtransnafta, had been returned. Transneft blamed points associated to European sanctions geared toward punishing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

In response, Ukraine halted oil deliveries to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic by means of the pipeline, based on Transneft. The three nations have been exempted from a European Union resolution to ban imports of Russian oil beginning later this 12 months.

Ukrtransnafta had no fast remark.

Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic sit on the southern finish of the Chilly Conflict-era pipeline — referred to as Druzhba, the Russian phrase for friendship. All three rely closely on Russia to satisfy their vitality wants and had lobbied their European companions to exempt oil delivered by pipeline from a ban on Russian imports handed by Brussels in late Might.

Germany, which sits on the northern finish of the pipeline and has additionally continued to obtain oil from Russia, was not affected by the interruption, Transneft stated.

Since invading Ukraine in February, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has proven that he’s prepared to make use of his management of the vitality spigot as leverage over Europe. He has additionally demonstrated his knack for holding his adversaries off-balance by sending blended indicators and making an attempt to play Western allies in opposition to each other.

Within the spring, Russia minimize deliveries of pure fuel to a number of European nations, beginning with Bulgaria and Poland, then including Finland. In June, on the day that the leaders of France, Germany and Italy visited Kyiv, these nations reported a shortfall of deliveries of Russian fuel, as did Austria and the Czech Republic.

Flows by means of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany, Europe’s foremost shopper of Russian fuel, have been slashed by 60 p.c after which by 80 p.c. Moscow blamed the disruption on a pipeline element that was being refurbished by a German firm at a manufacturing unit in Canada, inflicting tensions between Ottawa and Berlin.