Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday accused Germany of waging a “hybrid war” against Russia, justifying the suspension of gas supplies to Berlin by its “unfriendly” behavior amid the war in Ukraine, AFP reports.

The statements came as relations between Germany and Russia, already strained over the conflict in Ukraine, further soured after Moscow suspended gas supplies to Berlin via the Nord Stream pipeline.

“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says that ‘Russia is no longer a reliable energy supplier.’ First, Germany is an unfriendly country, and secondly, it imposed sanctions against the entire Russian economy (…) and supplies Ukraine with lethal weapons,” Medvedev said in a Telegram post.

“In other words, she declared a hybrid war against Russia. Germany is behaving as an ENEMY of RUSSIA,” he added. “And this uncle (Sholz) is surprised that the Germans have small problems with gas,” Medvedev also said.

On Friday, Russian giant Gazprom announced a complete shutdown of supplies through the Nord Stream gas pipeline after what the company said was an oil leak at a turbine.

Europeans who support Ukraine in the face of a Russian offensive believe that Moscow is using this as an excuse to blackmail them for energy as winter approaches and more countries fear shortages.

Even if it is heavily dependent on Russian hydrocarbons, Germany “will be able to cope with this winter”, Scholz assured on Sunday, stressing that Russia is no longer a “reliable energy supplier”.

Russian authorities are blaming European leaders for gas supply difficulties, saying sanctions imposed on Moscow to punish it for its offensive on Ukraine have stripped the Nord Stream pipeline of equipment to keep it running.

European leaders are taking an “absurd” approach to the gas crisis, Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov said on Sunday. “These politicians make their citizens die of strokes when they see their electricity bills explode,” he joked.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev’s post came after he accused the West on Saturday of “playing chess with death” over its support for Ukraine, saying Western countries were trying to use the conflict to push Russia into “a new round of disintegration.”