Russia-Ukraine gas dispute flares up as Europe bears the impact

The recent disputes between Russia and Ukraine over the supply of natural gas flared up this Tuesday. Ukraine lashed out at Russia saying that it had cut the supply of natural gas to Europe. Nine countries reported having their gas supplies cut off or reduced by Russia.

The Russian energy Giant Gazprom has cut three of four of its export pipelines. These are the pipelines through which Europe receives its gas supplies and hence such an act has had a significant impact on a number of nations.

Gazprom places the blame on Ukraine for giving rise to the current situation. The deputy chief of Gazprom, Alexander Medvedex said “Ukraine is in obvious breach of obligations as a transit country.”

Following the reduction of gas supply at least nine countries reported to be experiencing a shortage in their gas supply through the Ukraine channel. The countries that have been impacted include Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Turkey. These nations however did not blame either side for the problem but expressed their concerns for the issue.

Ukraine has been receiving natural gas from Russia for many years but this latest twist in their dealings is becoming grimmer by the day. Ukraine’s natural gas supply was cut off last week when the country failed to meet the dead line for past payment. Ukraine on the other hand has denied that it owes the money that Russia is demanding. At the moment Ukraine is being able to meet its needs due to supplies decked up in the storage facilities.

A meeting between the two countries has been scheduled for Thursday where they will discuss the issue at hand. Gazprom has stated that it will be filing suit against Ukraine accusing the country of siphoning gas from the export pipelines.

The Romanian and Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy have reported that their countries have experienced a 75% reduction in gas supply as a direct result of the dispute. Turkey is one of the nations that has been severely impacted by the dispute as the supply of gas that reached it through Ukraine has been completely cut off. A number of countries have over 50% percent of their gas supply cut off due to the Russian blockade whereas some nations like Greece and Turkey are not receiving any gas at all.