No Gas for Ukraine

With the Russian and Ukrainian economies both on the rocks, Gazprom, Russia’s largest company, firmly under the control of Vladimir Putin, has threatened to cut off supplies to Ukraine from January 1 if its $2.4 billion bill is not paid, according to The Times of London. Ukraine has accused Russia of exploiting the situation to gain control of the country’s gas network, which contains key strategic pipelines that connect to the rest of Europe. The attempt to grab Ukraine’s lifeline is not new. “It’s been happening every winter since 2005,” said a European Commission official in Brussels.