Four European companies have already paid for Russian gas supplies in rubles, as required by Moscow, Bloomberg reported, citing a source close to Russian gas giant Gazprom.

According to him, new disconnections after the termination of gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria are unlikely to occur before the second half of May, when the next payments are to be made.

According to the source, ten European companies have already opened accounts in Gazprombank, necessary to meet the payment requirements of Russia.

Supplies to Poland and Bulgaria were stopped after they rejected Gazprom's proposed settlement mechanism in rubles, which does not violate the EU sanctions, the source said. Russia supplies gas through pipelines to 23 European countries.

Moscow demanded payment in rubles for supplies starting 1 April. But the EU told member states that the mechanism proposed by the Kremlin, which requires opening accounts in euros and rubles in Gazprombank, would violate the sanctions.