Hundreds of thousands of people across the Balkans were left without heating on Thursday, and as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian gas war, some hospitals and companies have also closed.
Around 100,000 households in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 170,000 in Serbia are without heating, where several hospitals have also closed. In Bulgaria, at least 65,000 households are without heating in temperatures below -10 degrees Celsius. The population is finding refuge in electric heaters, which are in high demand, but there is now fear whether the electricity system can withstand such a load. There is also a shortage of heaters in Sarajevo, where 70,000 households are without gas, and the demand for firewood and coal has increased fivefold.
Numerous factories in Eastern Europe have been forced to close their doors since Russia suspended gas supplies through Ukraine on Wednesday. Authorities in Sofia have cut off gas supply to 72 large industrial consumers and reduced it for 153 others. “The Bulgarian economy is on its knees,” stated one official.
An aluminum factory in Bosnia and Herzegovina, two Slovak car factories, and a Hungarian car manufacturer have also closed. Most of them had previously suffered huge losses due to the financial crisis. The largest Serbian pharmaceutical producer, Hemofarm, announced that it is unable to restart production after the Christmas and New Year holidays, and the only Bulgarian yeast factory has shut down its operations and threatened a shortage of bread. The Bosnian aluminum factory Birač, majority-owned by the Lithuanian bank Ukio, has halted operations. The largest steel mill, Arcelor Mittal in Zenica, has partially done so.
