Russia/Ukraine: With Gas Cut Off, Ukraine Looks West

Sep 11, 2014 | Danny Hakim, The New York Times
View Original

UZHGOROD, Ukraine — Keeping Ukraine warm keeps Andriy Kobolev up at night.Mr. Kobolev, the head of Ukraine’s state energy company, Naftogaz, is scrambling to keep gas flowing into his country as winter looms. Russia’s energy giant, Gazprom, had provided a little more than half of Ukraine’s total gas supply, but suspended its shipments in June in the face of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military, citing a price dispute. Europe — itself dependent on Russia but also expanding sanctions on the country — has not been able to fill the gap.