Russian energy company Gazprom abruptly halted natural gas deliveries to Austria on Saturday following a dispute over supply interruptions.

The shutdown was confirmed to dpa by the spokesperson for the Austrian energy company OMV, Sylvia Shin.

The country has, however, taken precautions, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote Friday evening in a message on X. “No one will freeze in winter.”

State-owned Gazprom announced the supply freeze for Saturday at 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) with just over 12 hours’ notice.

An arbitration court this week awarded OMV 230 million euros ($242 million) under International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) rules.

OMV wanted to deduct this sum from ongoing deliveries to Gazprom, it said after the ruling, while expecting Gazprom to respond by stopping deliveries.

Austrian gas storage facilities have therefore been well filled, Nehammer said, emphasizing that a shutdown of Russian gas had been expected since the start of the war in Ukraine.

“We will not be blackmailed by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” he wrote on X.

Along with Hungary and Slovakia, Austria was one of the few EU countries still buying gas from Russia. In total, 80% of Austrian gas imports came from there.

According to OMV, Austria has found other suppliers and gas storage facilities were around 90% at the start of winter. This would be enough for Austria for about a year.

The alternative gas must come from Norway, from Austria’s own production or in the form of liquefied natural gas transported by ship via Italy or Germany.