Chancellor Olaf Scholz

said Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that was designed to double the flow of Russian gas, following Putin's decision to recognize the independence of separatist eastern Ukrainian Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Scholz told reporters that it was necessary to "send a clear signal to Moscow that such actions won’t remain without consequences."

• The backlash: Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chairman of its Security Council, said in a tweet that halting the project will be costly to Europe, even though Putin promised that Russia would not be interrupting any of its existing gas supplies.