Russia has halted oil supplies to Poland via the Druzhba pipeline, the chief executive of Polish refiner PKN Orlen says, adding that the company would tap alternative sources to plug the gap.
The supply halt via the pipeline — exempted from EU sanctions imposed on Russia following the beginning of the Ukraine war — came a day after Poland delivered its first Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Al Jazeera wrote.
“Russia has halted supplies to Poland, for which we are prepared,” wrote the PKN Orlen Chief Executive Daniel Obajtek on Twitter, adding that only 10 percent of crude oil has been coming from Russia, which they will replace with oil from other sources.
The company said it could fully supply its refineries via sea and that the halt in pipeline supplies would not affect deliveries of petrol and diesel to its clients.
As of February, after a contract with Russia’s Rosneft expired, Orlen has been getting oil under a deal with Russia’s oil and natural gas company Tatneft.
The supply halt came after US President Joe Biden visited Warsaw and Kyiv this week in a show of support for Ukraine.
On Friday, the European Union agreed on the 10th package of sanctions on Russia.
Poland delivered four Leopard tanks to Ukraine already and is prepared to deliver more quickly, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday.
“We will support Ukraine until complete victory over Russia,” Morawiecki said during a visit to Kyiv, standing next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.