Ukraine gas crisis rumbles on as west again affected

Russian disagreements with Ukraine have continued despite the earlier settlement of a dispute over gas pricing ( see 'Focus', January 2006 ). Deliveries of Russian gas to the west have again been disrupted amid accusations from Moscow that Ukraine has been abstracting more gas from Russia's export pipeline than it is contractually entitled to. The problem, however, appears to originate in Russia, where cold weather has caused domestic demand for gas to soar, leaving less available for export.