Germany declared it is facing a crisis with respect to natural gas supplies due to Russian disruptions, as it activated the second “alarm phase” of its three-level energy emergency plan.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck has called the Russian disruptions in Germany’s gas supplies as an “economic attack” on his nation, saying, “We will defend ourselves against this. But our country is going to have to go down a stony path now.”

The declaration of an alarm comes on the heels of Russia announcing it would be cutting Germany’s natural gas supplies by 60%. While many in Europe are calling the Russian action a political act, Russia has said it is merely cutting flows because it can no longer safely maintain pressures without a turbine it had sent to Canada for maintenance, which is now hung up, unable to be returned due to Western sanctions on Russia.

The Canadian government has indicated it is looking for ways to get the turbine returned which might not violate the sanctions. Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson told Bloomberg said, “The intent of the sanctions was never to cause significant pain to Germany, which is one of our closest friends and allies.” 

For now, the regulator of Germany’s gas distribution networks has said it is trying to reduce gas consumption by businesses to minimize the effects of the restrictions. The main concern of the country at this point is building up storage of gas so it can provide enough for the peak consumption periods during winter when gas is used for heating.

At present Germany has managed to fill storage facilities to 58% capacity, with a goal of reaching 90% capacity by December.

It is in the third alarm phase of the gas emergency plan that the government would introduce forced gas rationing.