By Jan. 9, oil flow from Russia to the Czech Republic had been reduced by more than half.

But the government is putting on a brave face, saying Czech day-to-day energy needs will remain unaffected.

"From the point of view of the Czech Republic, nothing has happened, because now the oil is flowing from our storage facilities, so the supply is uninterrupted," said Industry and Trade Ministry spokesman Tomáš Bartovský.

In line with European Union regulations, the Czech Republic has reserves to last about 100 days.

Russia and Belarus have been squabbling over oil and gas. Russia more than doubled gas prices to Belarus, and added a tariff on oil. Belarus slapped a transit fee on shipments in the Russian-owned Druzhba pipeline. That line passes through Belarus before splitting into two branches: one serving Poland and Germany and the other heading southward into Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The dispute is rippling through Europe, echoing last year's gas showdown between Russia and Ukraine. Both Moscow and Minsk are blaming each other for the oil disruption.

Supply to Poland and Germany began drying up Jan. 7, causing the countries to open reserves. A day later, shipments through the southern branch were also reduced, the Slovak operator of the pipeline, Transpetrol, announced in a press release.

The Czech Republic gets 65 percent of its oil through this pipeline.

Reserves are keeping the two main Czech refineries stocked, Michaela Lagronová, spokeswoman for Unipetrol, which operates the facilities, told Russia's Interfax News Agency.

If necessary, the Czech refineries can increase the amount of oil they get from other pipelines, like the Ingolstadt pipeline in Germany, Bartovský said. The country also has access via Slovakia to a pipeline originating in the Adriatic Sea.

The disruption has some calling for decreased dependence on Russia.

"Gas and oil are part of the neo-imperial politics of the Russian Federation," Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek told Czech daily Mladá fronta Dnes Jan. 9.