Europe holds its breath as Putin shuts off the gas: Russia turns off pipeline for ten days for 'routine maintenance'... but will it be turned back on? 

• Russia has closed the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline for 10 days of maintenance
• There are concerns the taps won't be turned back on, wreaking havoc in Europe 
• Gas prices have already soared with Russia reducing supplies to 60 per cent 

Russia has switched off the taps for Europe's main gas pipeline for ten days amid fears they might not be turned back on.

Vladimir Putin has sent gas prices rocketing across the continent since launching his brutal invasion, limiting the supply to 60 per cent capacity amid warnings of blackouts and hot water rations.

Now Nord Stream 1 will be completely off for ten days for 'planned maintenance' with concerns Gazprom might take the opportunity to simply shut off the valves, wreaking havoc across the continent. 

'Putin is going to turn off the gas tap... but will he turn it back on one day?' German mass-market daily Bild asked on Sunday on its website.

Since Russia cut capacity last month, European benchmark TTF gas prices have doubled from already high levels to £144 per megawatt hour.

Today, prices have remained relatively stable despite the taps being turned off, rising by only 0.5 per cent for the main contract for delivery next month. 

But Klaus Mueller, the head of Germany's federal gas network regulator, told public broadcaster ZDF on Monday: 'There are a number of scenarios in which we could end up in an emergency.'

'We are confronted with an unprecedented situation - anything is possible,' German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck told public radio over the weekend.

'It is possible that the gas will flow once more, even at a higher volume level than before.'

But, he warned, 'it is possible that nothing comes through, and we still have to prepare for the worst' as Europe scrambles to transition away from Russia for energy supplies. 

The recent reduction to 60 per cent was blamed on the absence of a turbine by Russia but Germany denounced it as a 'political' decision.

Those cuts had a knock-on effect on supplies to a number of EU states, while Poland and Bulgaria have also seen theirs stopped altogether.

In response to Russia weaponizing gas supplies, Europe has imposed a blockade on Russian goods, which was extended by Lithuania today for the exclave of Kaliningrad.

Additional goods barred from this morning include concrete, wood, alcohol and alcohol-based industrial chemicals, a spokesperson for Lithuanian customs said.

Russia warned Lithuania and the European Union on Friday that it could adopt 'harsh measures' against them if the transit of some goods to and from Kaliningrad did not resume 'within the coming days'.

The Kaliningrad regional governor today proposed a total ban on overland movement of goods between Russia and the three EU Baltic member states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, a move which could divert Russian freight from their ports to those in Kaliningrad.

'This will provide activities to (our) maritime carriers and give work to Kaliningrad ports, which have been hit hard by the EU restrictions,' Governor Anton Alikhanov said on Telegram.

Poland and Bulgaria have also seen theirs stopped altogether.

Today, Putin and his Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally, discussed a possible response to Lithuania's actions during a phone call.

The presidents discussed 'certain possible joint steps...in connection with the illegal restrictions imposed by Lithuania on the transit of goods to the Kaliningrad region', the Kremlin said in a short statement on Telegram.

Lithuania has no border with mainland Russia but is a neighbour of Belarus.

The dispute over the isolation of Kaliningrad is testing Europe's resolve to enforce the sanctions amid fears of an escalating confrontation with Russia after other restrictions pushed Moscow to default on its debt.

EU officials, with Germany's backing, sought in late June a swift compromise to resolve the stand-off. 

However sources told Reuters that Lithuania, once ruled from Moscow within the old Soviet Union, had serious reservations about making what could be seen as a concession to the Kremlin.

Kaliningrad borders on NATO and EU member states Lithuania and Poland and relies on railways and roads through Lithuania for most goods. 

The coastal territory has been cut off from some freight transport from mainland Russia since June 17 under the EU sanctions regime.

Goods that fall within humanitarian or essential categories, such as food, are exempted from the sanctions. Passenger traffic is not banned and Kaliningrad can still be reached by air or sea.