INTERNATIONAL: Russia will on Wednesday stop supplying gas to Poland and Bulgaria, the two NATO and EU members said, an escalation in the deepening rift between the West and Moscow over Ukraine as tensions also surged in neighboring Moldova.

Kyiv accused Moscow of blackmailing Europe and of trying to drag Moldova into the conflict after authorities in the Moscow-backed region of Transdniestria said they had been targeted by a series of attacks.

Staunch Kremlin opponent Poland is among the European countries seeking the toughest possible sanctions against Russia for invading its neighbor.

Poland's state-owned PGNiG (PGN.WA) said supplies from energy giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) via Ukraine and Belarus will be cut at 0600GMT on Wednesday, but Warsaw said it did not need to draw on reserves and its gas storage was 76% full.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on "unfriendly" countries to pay for gas imports in robles, a move only a few buyers have implemented so far.

"The ultimate goal of Russia's leadership is not just to seize the territory of Ukraine, but to dismember the entire center and east of Europe and deal a global blow to democracy," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on Tuesday.