Russia claimed victory in a months-long battle for Mariupol's Avostal steel plant, taking it a step nearer to its goal of controlling Ukraine's Donbas region, and halted gas exports to Finland in an escalation of an energy payment dispute with Western nations.

* Move comes at same time as Finland applying to join NATO (Adds Gazprom confirmation, context, bullet points)

Russia's Gazprom said on Saturday it had halted gas exports to neighbouring Finland, confirming what the Finnish system operator Gasgrid Finland said earlier.

Russia's Gazprom on Saturday halted gas exports to neighbouring Finland, the Finnish system operator Gasgrid said, the latest escalation of an energy payments dispute with Western nations. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)

* Some EU states refuse to comply with Russian payment demands

U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a ninth week in a row, data showed on Friday, as mostly small producers respond to high prices and prodding by the government to ramp up output.

U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a ninth week in a row, data showed on Friday, as mostly small producers respond to high prices and prodding by the government to ramp up output.

Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft said on Friday that former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and German businessman Matthias Warnig were stepping down from its board of directors.

Russia's Gazprom has informed Finland it will halt flows of natural gas from Saturday morning, Gasum said on Friday, after the Finnish state-owned gas wholesaler refused to pay its Russian supplier in roubles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he plans to discuss with state-owned Gazprom the possibility of boosting liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to the western exclave of Kaliningrad, Interfax news agency reported.