Russia/Ukraine: Russia Ratchets Up Ukraine's Gas Bills in Shift to an Economic Battlefield

May 10, 2014 | Steven Erlanger, The New York Times
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LONDON - Gazprom, the natural gas giant 50.01 percent owned by the Russian government, keeps ratcheting up the bill for Ukraine, increasing the economic pressure on Kiev in tandem with military pressure along Ukraine's eastern border.

What Gazprom executives now say Ukraine owes them comes to more then $22 billion. In early March, Gazprom put the bill at less than $2 billion. How Gazprom now calculates its charges explains a lot about the way the company is used by the Kremlin for political purposes.