EU Faces Crisis as Russia Cuts Off Gas

Thousands of eastern Europeans left in the cold by Russia-Ukraine dispute

(NEWSER) - Gas could be flowing back to a frozen Europe within days after Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed yesterday to an EU-brokered plan to have independent observers monitor pipelines, the Guardian reports. Russia cut off all its gas supplies via Ukraine Wednesday over a pricing dispute, leaving hundreds of thousands scrambling to stay warm in a deadly cold snap. More»

Last pipeline shut as shortages spread as far as France

(AP) - Having slowed to a trickle yesterday, Russia today shut off all its gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine, the latest move in a pricing dispute that has affected fuel deliveries to a dozen countries during a winter cold snap. Gazprom, the Russian state gas company, blamed Ukraine for shutting down the pipeline. But a spokesperson for Ukraine told the AP that "it was the Russian side's decision to stop all gas deliveries to Europe." More»

Russian gas to resume gas exports today

(NEWSER) - Russian gas will resume flowing into Ukraine’s domestic market today after the two countries settled their frosty dispute, the New York Times reports. As is customary for Western Europe, Kiev will now pay Moscow rates tied to the price of oil, but will receive a 20% discount, unlike Gazprom’s other European customers. Prices are expected to plummet this year. More»

Agreement reached; export flow to Europe not in danger

(NEWSER) - Ukraine and Russia announced today that their natural-gas companies had settled the dispute that had caused Russia to cut gas supply to Ukraine by 50%—and spurred worries that the flow of gas to Western Europe would be disrupted, the AP reports. "The restrictions on deliveries for Ukrainian consumers have been lifted," reads a joint statement from Gazprom and Naftogaz. More»

(NEWSER) - The very strategies that made Gazprom an international force are now causing the energy giant—and consequently, Moscow—unaccustomed financial stress, the New York Times reports. Vladimir Putin built Gazprom into a goliath by aggressively dominating natural gas supplies, but to do it, he entered into long-term contracts to buy gas from Central Asian countries at now-insane prices. With demand and prices down drastically, Russia is being forced to sell at huge losses. More»