Kiev and Moscow plunged into a new gas dispute on Thursday after Russia’s Gazprom unexpectedly decided not to restart supplies, forcing Ukraine to cut usage despite freezing weather. Ukraine’s state-owned energy firm Naftogaz said it would ask heating firms to use 5-10 percent less gas for four days from Saturday. It also said it would seek compensation from Gazprom. The row threatens to open a new front in a long-running legal battle between the companies – a by-product of broader political tension following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. It follows Wednesday’s international arbitration court order for Gazprom to pay $2.56 billion to Naftogaz after weighing mutual claims and counter-claims related to gas supplies and transit. On Thursday, Gazprom said it had returned a prepayment to Ukraine and would not restart gas supplies as an additional agreement to the […]