Tension between two neighboring countries, Russia and Ukraine, escalate over the trade of gas supplies and failure to restore power to Crimea, a land located between south of the Ukraine and west of Russia, in which Moscow occupied last year.
Gazprom, A Russian State gas firm, confirmed that Ukraine had not pre-paid for future supplies, as required under their contract, and so gas flow was cut Wednesday, November 25.
Gazprom chief executive Alexey Miller warned the Ukraine and said "The refusal to buy our gas will create serious risks for the reliable transit of gas to Europe through Ukraine and for the supply of gas to Ukrainian consumers during the upcoming winter."
Some of Ukrainian home's will suffer in freezing temperatures since most homes rely on gas for central heating.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk ordered a halt in the supply of Moscow's gas because his country now has sufficient fuel in storage. He adds that gas supplies from other neighboring countries in Europe are cheaper than what Russia charges for their gas supplies.
The halt started two months after the two countries signed a EU-brokered deal ensuring supplies through March. Under the deal, Russia acten on lowering the price it charged Ukraine to the same level granted to neighboring countries, from $251 per 1,000 cubic meters to about $230.
Past gas disputes between Russia and Ukraine have led to cutoffs just like this one. One standoff in 2009 caused serious disruptions Ukraine shipments for European countries on a winter season.
On the other side of the coin, four pylons carrying power lines to Crimea were blown up in southern Ukraine last week by protesters who claim Russian authorities oppressing its Crimean locals, most of who opposed Moscow's occupation over the peninsula. Repairs to one pylon started yesterday but much of Crimea is still without electricity.
The rivalry goes on as Mr. Yatsenyuk, announced that all Russian airliners were now barred from using Ukrainian airspace saying "This is an issue of our country's national security - a response to the Russian Federation and its aggressive actions."
