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Dispute between Russia, Ukraine leaves tens of thousands without heat. EU demands an end to fight
By George Jahn
and Maria Danilova
Associated Press
Published on Wednesday, Jan 07, 2009
VIENNA, AUSTRIA: The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute hit Europe with the force of a winter storm Tuesday, cutting or limiting supplies to at least a dozen nations. Tens of thousands of people were left without heat and governments scrambled to find alternate energy sources.
Shocked by how fast the shortages were spreading, the European Union demanded a quick end to the quarrel — a sharp turnaround from their earlier stance, when officials had downplayed the conflict between Moscow and Kiev as primarily a business matter.
But by Tuesday evening, gauges on delivery pipelines to seven countries, including some depending totally on Russian gas, pointed toward zero and an increasing number of other nations reported significant reductions.
The Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz said Russia's gas giant Gazprom had sharply reduced its shipments to Europe through pipelines crossing Ukraine, triggering the cuts. Gazprom in turn accused Ukraine of shutting three of four transit pipelines.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered Gazprom to continue a 15 percent cut in daily shipments through Ukraine. He said Ukraine was stealing gas from Western consumers ''because they are the ones who bought these goods and paid for them.''
Ukraine has acknowledged diverting some of the gas, but says it has the right to use it to run compressors at pumping stations along the pipeline network.
Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments, while France, Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary reported substantial drops in supplies from Russia.
Some governments and utilities sought to reassure the public, saying well-stocked storage facilities would allow them to weather the storm.
Still, the growing fallout from the dispute evoked memories of the 2006 Gazprom-Ukraine gas war — and starkly reflected once again the continent's energy dependence on Moscow.
Balkan nations appeared to be the worst hit.
In Bulgaria, which depends totally on Russian gas, the eastern cities of Varna and Dobrich were left without any gas because of the cutoff. Authorities said 12,000 Varna households were without central heating amid freezing temperatures.
''I have to use electric radiators at home, which is almost twice more expensive as central heating,'' said Anton Stoyanov, a 45-year-old radio engineer in Varna. ''But we have to keep the apartment warm since we have a baby in the family.''
With pipeline operator Bulgargaz saying Bulgaria had gas reserves for only ''a few days,'' President Georgi Parvanov urged authorities to restart a mothballed unit of its nuclear plant. Serbia, which also relies on Russia for 90 percent of its gas, said all supplies ceased Tuesday afternoon. With little in storage, serious outages were possible within days.
VIENNA, AUSTRIA: The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute hit Europe with the force of a winter storm Tuesday, cutting or limiting supplies to at least a dozen nations. Tens of thousands of people were left without heat and governments scrambled to find alternate energy sources.
Get the full article here.
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