Vladimir Putin is attempting to squeeze Europe’s energy supplies further by closing a major oil pipeline into Germany.
Russia has announced plans to shut the Druzhba pipeline within nine days, cutting the Continent off from Kazakh oil as it faces supply disruption caused by the Iran war.
The planned closure poses a particular threat to Germany, where the Druzhba pipeline supplies 17pc of the crude oil processed by PCK refinery, which provides 90pc of the fuel used by Berlin’s cars.
The refinery, which sits 60 miles north-east of the capital and is one of the largest in the country, is also the biggest supplier of kerosene and heating fuel to Berlin and its airport.
It was previously operated by the Moscow state energy giant Rosneft and relied heavily on Russian oil imports. That was until Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Germany pivoted to Kazakh supplies.
The Druzhba pipeline is one of the largest such networks in the world and runs from Russia and Kazakhstan to countries including Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Moscow’s decision to close the pipeline is expected to put further pressure on Europe after the Iran war triggered the world’s biggest energy crisis, sending fuel costs soaring.
Oil prices jumped by more than 1pc on Wednesday morning to nearly $100 per barrel, up 37pc since the conflict in the Middle East began.
This has stemmed from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which typically transports a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
Fatih Birol, the chief executive of the International Energy Agency (IEA), warned last week that Europe had less than two months of jet fuel supplies left.
Industry sources told Reuters that the Kremlin warned Kazakhstan and Germany that oil would stop flowing through the Druzhba pipeline from May 1.
Germany’s PCK refinery processes the crude oil supplied by the Druzhba pipeline – Christian Ender/Getty Images
A senior Kazakh government official told the Financial Times that Russia is trying to put pressure on Europe and Germany, which is the largest arms supplier to Ukraine.
Kazakhstan exports around 43,000 barrels of oil per day to Germany through the Druzhba pipeline, up 44pc since 2024.
The Russian president has a track record of weaponising energy supplies to pressure Europe, previously shutting down the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022
It comes after Putin last month instructed officials to “explore the feasibility” of cutting gas supplies to Europe.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told reporters he was not aware of a move to stop the oil exports. “We will try to check it,” he said.
Separately on Wednesday, Russian oil flows restarted through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline, which runs to Hungary and Slovakia.
This section of the pipeline had been closed for months after it was damaged by a Russian drone strike. After flows restarted, Hungary lifted its veto on a €90bn (£78bn) European Union loan to Ukraine, which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had blocked pending the pipeline’s repairs.