Russia halted the supply of natural gas to its neighboring Finland on Saturday after the Nordic country refused to pay Gazprom in rubles.

Finland imports most of its gas from Russia, and natural gas makes up about 8% of Finland's energy consumption.

Following the war in Ukraine, Moscow has requested its clients from "unfriendly countries" to pay for gas in rubles, as a response to sanctions on its central bank.

Gasum, the Finnish government-owned energy firm, said it would make up for the shortage by resorting to other sources through the Balticconnector pipeline, which links Finland to Estonia, asserting that filling stations would operate normally.

"Natural gas supplies to Finland under Gasum's supply contract have been cut off," the firm said in a statement.

Gasum said Friday that it had learned from Gazprom Export that the supply would stop on Saturday morning.

In April, Gazprom Export requested future payments in the supply contract be paid in rubles. Gasum rejected and declared on Tuesday it was taking legal action against Gazprom.

In efforts to reduce the risks of depending on Russian energy exports, the Finnish government announced on Friday that the country had signed a 10-year lease agreement with US-based Excelerate Energy for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal ship.

Finland broke its historical military non-alignment earlier this week and applied for NATO membership.

Russia has warned Finland that applying for a NATO membership would be "a grave mistake with far-reaching consequences."