Russia has halted its gas supply to Finland – the latest escalation of an energy payments row with the West.

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom confirmed it had completely halted exports to Finland at 04:00 GMT on Saturday.

Finland said all the deliveries had stopped, but added there would be no disruption to customers.

Helsinki has been refusing to pay for its supplies in roubles. But the cut-off also follows an announcement that Finland will apply for Nato membership.

Despite its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Russia continues to supply gas to many European countries.

After Western powers sanctioned Russia over the war, Russia said “unfriendly” countries must pay for gas using the Russian currency, a move the EU considers blackmail.