Putin has threatened so called unfriendly states to pay in rubles or have its gas supply shut off. It has said it doesn't buy things for free and so isn't going to charitable with its energy.
Europe has kicked against this with Germany saying its being blackmailed by this move. What other choice does Europe has with Russia alone selling about 40% of energy to the world.
After reading a little bit more it seems that Putin is somehow softening his position and it seems this is going to be a gradual change and not something as abrupt as it seemed at first, however it seems that at some point this is going to become the new reality for European countries that are against Russia and their designs on the continent, and to be honest this was to be expected, Russia has very few economic weapons but the ones they have are strong, so it was just a matter of time until they used their leverage against Europe.