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KIEV: All deliveries of Russian gas through Ukraine were halted on Wednesday, in an intensification of a crisis between Moscow and Kiev which risks depriving European consumers of gas amid freezing weather.
At least eleven European states, including Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have now reported complete halts of Russian gas supplies amid freezing temperatures of almost minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 13 Fahrenheit).
Among the worst hit is Bulgaria, which has already asked the public to cut back on gas usage and ordered heating in all public transport in Sofia to be turned off.
Romania declared a state of emergency.
The Czech EU presidency called for an "urgent solution" to the gas row while the European Commission proposed sending observers to Ukraine to measure the flow of natural gas arriving from Russia.
In Prague, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the EU's presidency, warned that the EU would toughen its response to the gas crisis if supplies were not restored by Thursday.
"If the supply is not restored by tomorrow we will see a stronger intervention from the (EU) presidency and the EU as such," he told journalists.
He did not say what form the tougher action would take.
Ukraine accused Russia of cutting off the gas to Europe while Russian energy giant Gazprom blamed Kiev for shutting the last remaining pipeline. But neither disputed that all supplies of Russian gas across Ukraine had been halted.
"Russia stopped all transit through Ukraine" at 7:44 am (0544 GMT), the spokesman for Ukraine's state gas company Naftogaz, Valentin Zemlyansky, told AFP. "Russia has left Europe without gas," he added.
But Gazprom vice-president Alexander Medvedev accused Ukraine of cutting all gas deliveries to Europe, warning of "very serious technical problems" if pipelines stay closed.
"Last night Ukraine shut down all gas pipelines to Europe," Medvedev told reporters in Berlin. "This morning no pipeline is bringing gas through Ukraine to Europe."
He warned there would be "very serious technical problems with this very cold weather if the pipelines stay closed for a long time."
Russia is the world's biggest natural gas producer and provides about one-quarter of the gas used in the European Union, or about 40 percent of the gas the bloc imports. Some 80 percent of those imports pass though Ukraine.
Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1 in a dispute with the country's pro-Western leaders over late payments and new gas prices for 2009.
In the bitter war of words that ensued, Russia accused Ukraine of stealing Russian gas destined for Europe while Kiev blamed Moscow for the shortfalls.
Austria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia all announced Wednesday that all their supplies of Russian gas had been cut off overnight.
Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary and Macedonia had already announced that their deliveries had been cut. Slovakia declared an energy emergency.
The Bulgarian capital Sofia turned off the lighting on the facades of public buildings such as parliament and the national theatre in order to save electricity.
"The only solution for Bulgaria is the resumption of deliveries. There is only one gas pipe entering the country and that is via Ukraine," said Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov.
Serbia reported a drastic fall in Russian gas supplies while Poland said it was receiving minimal deliveries of Russian gas via Ukraine, although it was receiving more Russian gas than usual through another pipeline via Belarus.
France and Italy announced falls of 70 and 90 percent respectively while Germany said it was starting to feel the first effects of the crisis.
Turkey said that supplies passing through Ukraine had been completely cut but that it was getting increased amounts through a separate gas pipeline that does not cross Ukraine.
The disruption coincides with the advance of an exceptionally cold front across much of central and western Europe. Many countries in Eastern and Central Europe depend on gas for central heating.
But experts said the immediate impact on consumers in Europe would be mitigated by the fact that they had consciously stocked up reserves after a similar Russia-Ukraine dispute caused shortfalls in 2006.
"We are still a long way from end-user customers having a problem," said Chris Weafer, chief strategist for Moscow-based investment bank UralSib.
In a sign of a possible compromise, the chief executive of Ukraine's Naftogaz, Oleg Dubina, said he would travel to Moscow for talks with Gazprom head Alexei Miller at 0900 GMT Thursday. - AFP/de
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