Polish PM warns of Ukrainian energy crisis caused by Russia

Poland's prime minister has told Germany's DPA news agency that while the build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine is a cause for concern, an energy crisis in Ukraine due to its reliance on Russian resources is yet another threat.

"We are dealing with a certain additional movement of Russian forces around Ukraine," Mateusz Morawiecki told DPA, going on to warn of the potential for an energy crisis in Poland's eastern neighbour.

"It is dependent on Russian supplies of oil, gas and even coal," he said.

"According to some analyses, Russian energy blackmail could lead to a blackout in Ukraine," he added.

The Polish prime minister went on to say that he believes Russia is using energy as a weapon against Ukraine and expressed hope that due to this, Germany would change its position on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which, he said, "is a blackmail tool against Ukraine and Moldova."

Nord Stream 2 is a German-Russian gas pipeline project, opposed by Poland and some other states, aimed at delivering gas from Russia to western Europe bypassing eastern European countries, including Ukraine.

"It is also a tool of manipulation of energy prices," Morawiecki said. "I would expect that the new German government would do everything for Nord Stream 2 to not become a tool in (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin's arsenal."