Czech Gas Storage Facilities 30% Full, Hitting Record High For May 1 - Minister

PRAGUE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2022) Gas storage facilities in the Czech Republic are 30% full, hitting a historic maximum for early May, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Josef Sikela said on Sunday.

"As of May 1, our gas storage facilities are 30% full, this is a historical maximum. By the end of May, gas storage facilities are expected to be 50% full. The task is to fill them to 80% before the beginning of the new heating season, amounting to about 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas," the minister said on the air of Czech tv.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Friday that the Czech Republic will not pay for Russian gas in rubles, as this would be a violation of sanctions.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian aggression. Western countries responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia and increasing financial and military support of Ukraine.