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No gas siphoning found, Moscow says

There’s no evidence to suggest Russian natural gas bound for Europe was siphoned off during transit through Ukraine, the Russian Energy Ministry said Monday. "According to [the gas meters], there has not been any siphoning off of Russian gas in Ukraine," a ministry spokesman told state news agency RIA Novosti. The Soviet-era gas transmission network in Ukraine carries more than half of the Russian natural gas bound for the European market. Russian energy company Gazprom last week said it would deliver gas to its Ukrainian counterparts only if paid in advance. Gazprom switched to the pre-payment mechanism saying it was frustrated with the $4 billion debt for gas from Ukraine. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said last week Ukraine would siphon off the gas for free unless it secured a substantial discount. "Ukraine will not pay off its gas debt, will take our gas for free in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine Says Rebels Ignoring Unilateral Cease-Fire

Ukrainian authorities on Monday accused pro-Russia separatists in the east of blatantly disregarding a unilateral cease-fire declared by Kiev on Friday and continuing attacks on government forces. The charge comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for Kiev to hold unconditional talks with rebel leaders , saying it was the only way that a peace plan offered by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko could be successful. Mr. Poroshenko has said he is willing to talk with anyone who has opposed the government except for those with "blood on their hands." "In response to this offer of peace, the militants and terrorists have continued their armed attacks, blatantly violating the truce," Ukraine’s defense ministry said in a statement. Western leaders are threatening broader sanctions against Russia if Mr. Putin doesn’t move to stop the separatists from fighting and secure stretches of the border under rebel control. Kiev has accused […]

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No political games with energy, Moscow says

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said using energy for geopolitical gain leads to market instability and a poor investment climate. Novak told delegates gathered in Moscow for the World Petroleum Congress the Kremlin isn’t trying to dominate global energy markets for political gain. "We are focused on fundamental market mechanisms," he said in his Thursday address . "Using energy as a tool to achieve geopolitical goals leads to increased instability and worsening of the investment climate in the energy sector, with end users paying for this." Russian energy company Gazprom this week said it would sell future natural gas supplies to Ukraine only with advance payment . Europe gets about a quarter of its gas from Russia, though most of those supplies run through Ukraine’s pipeline system. Europe has looked for alternate gas supplies to break the Russian grip on the region’s energy sector. European Energy […]

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Putin orders forces in the Urals on combat alert

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday ordered military forces in central Russia on combat alert as well as a drill of airborne troops, a day after Ukraine ordered a cease-fire with pro-Russian rebels. NATO said earlier this week that Russia has resumed a military build-up on the border with Ukraine where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting government forces for weeks in a conflict that has left about 300 people dead and displaced over 34,000. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered his forces to cease fire Friday and halt military operations for a week, the first step in a peace plan he hopes will end the fighting that has killed hundreds. The Kremlin dismissed the plan, saying it sounded like an ultimatum and lacked any firm offer to open talks with insurgents. The combat alert in the central military district, which encompasses the Volga region and the Ural […]

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As Military and Rebels Clash in Ukraine, Doubt Falls on Cease-Fire Prospects

Fierce fighting raged here on Thursday between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatist rebels, with hours of intense shelling casting grave doubts on the prospects of a unilateral cease-fire that was promised just a day earlier by the new Ukrainian president, Petro O. Poroshenko. As government forces intensified their drive to crush the separatist insurrection that has plunged Ukraine into conflict, explosions rocked villages between Seversk and Krasny Liman, a railroad hub north of the regional capital of Donetsk that could provide a lifeline to the blockaded rebel stronghold of Slavyansk. In another foreboding development, the NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said Thursday that Russia had redeployed several thousand troops along the Ukrainian border. A month ago, President Vladimir V. Putin had ordered soldiers withdrawn from the border area in what appeared to be an effort to defuse Ukraine’s crisis, along with statements that Russia […]

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Ukraine forces battle separatists after truce 'refused'

Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists were locked in fierce fighting in the east of Ukraine on Thursday after rebels rejected a call to lay down their arms in line with a peace plan proposed by President Petro Poroshenko, government forces said. Heavy fighting broke out at around 4 a.m. near the town of Krasny Liman, which itself has been under government control since early this month. "We issued an ultimatum to the terrorists overnight to surrender their weapons. We guarantee their safety and investigation in line with Ukrainian law … They refused," said government forces spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov. "Now we are trying to narrow the encirclement. They are trying to break out," Seleznyov said. No details of the fighting were immediately available from the rebels side. Poroshenko, installed as a president on June 7, is pushing a peace plan to end the separatist rebellion including an […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine forces battle separatists after truce ‘refused’

Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists were locked in fierce fighting in the east of Ukraine on Thursday after rebels rejected a call to lay down their arms in line with a peace plan proposed by President Petro Poroshenko, government forces said. Heavy fighting broke out at around 4 a.m. near the town of Krasny Liman, which itself has been under government control since early this month. "We issued an ultimatum to the terrorists overnight to surrender their weapons. We guarantee their safety and investigation in line with Ukrainian law … They refused," said government forces spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov. "Now we are trying to narrow the encirclement. They are trying to break out," Seleznyov said. No details of the fighting were immediately available from the rebels side. Poroshenko, installed as a president on June 7, is pushing a peace plan to end the separatist rebellion including an […]

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Rebels Reject Ukrainian Leader’s Cease-Fire Idea

After Ukraine’s new president, Petro O. Poroshenko, told reporters in Kiev on Wednesday that he might soon order a temporary, unilateral cease-fire as part of a broader 14-point peace plan, it took all of several seconds for pro-Russian militants to rule it out. “I am a condemned man,” said a stick-thin fighter who, like many others here, identified himself only by an alias, Tarik, for security reasons. Sipping tea in the gloom of the lobby of Donetsk’s rebel-occupied administration building on Wednesday afternoon, he patted the magazine of the automatic rifle slung across his chest. Any cease-fire would certainly be violated by the Ukrainian Army, he said, adding that he and other pro-Russian separatists would be arrested the minute the government had the opportunity. “What peace can they possibly offer me?” he asked. “If they want peace, then they can leave.” Tarik and a dozen other […]

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The Third Russia-Ukraine Gas War

At 10 am on Monday, June 16, 2014, Gazprom, a Russian gas monopoly, cut off supplies of gas to Ukraine. This is the third time in the last ten years when Gazprom has tried to use a cut-off to force the Ukrainian government to accept a deal it did not want to accept. In the previous two cut-offs —in January 2004 and January 2009, that is, in the middle of bitter cold winters—Ukraine bowed to the pressure and agreed to unfavorable contracts with high prices, tough clauses, and heavy penalties. Each time, Russia used Gazprom and energy prices as a political instrument to pressure pro-Western governments in Ukraine. Although the current cut-off is motivated by the same political factors, the outcome could be different this time. In a nutshell, Gazprom wants to sell gas to Ukraine at $485 per thousand of cubic meters. Ukraine insists on the price of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Gas Siphoning Seen Unlikely in Ukraine Seeking EU Ties

Ukraine seeking closer ties to the European Union means natural gas flows from Russia to the 28-nation bloc are unlikely to be disrupted, according to Maplecroft Ltd. and Energy Aspects Ltd. UkrTransGas is shipping full volumes from Russia to Europe, the Ukrainian pipeline operator said yesterday, one day after its own supply was cut by Russia amid a two-month long pricing dispute. All imports needed to meet domestic needs can be replaced with gas from Europe for now, Naftogaz Ukrainy’s Chief Executive Officer Andriy Kobolyev said. Russia’s OAO Gazprom (GAZP) cut supplies after a payment deadline expired, echoing disputes that disrupted flows in 2006 and 2009, when the state-run company accused Ukraine of siphoning off transit gas, a charge it denied. Ukraine, which carries Russian gas meeting about 15 percent of the European Union’s needs, is seeking closer ties with the bloc after former President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple