Russia today shut off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine, leaving 12 countries without fuel in freezing winter conditions. As millions of people struggled to cope in sub-zero temperatures, the European Union said the continent had effectively been 'taken hostage' by a trade dispute.
The cutoff has also showed the first signs of hitting the European economy as the Hungarian unit of the Japanese automaker Suzuki said it was halting production because of restrictions on industrial users of gas.
Ukraine's pro-West* President Viktor Yushchenko blamed Moscow for the supply disruptions, saying Moscow would continue to close the gas taps to Europe or stop them altogether.
The Commission subsequently issued an ultimatum giving Russia and Ukraine a 24-hour deadline to resolve the situation or 'face an intervention'. [?] Significantly, the EU failed to spell out what action it planned to take if its warning was ignored.
Europe receives about 20 per cent of its gas from Russia, via the Ukraine pipelines.
[* I fear this is a prelude to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Europe, having mortgaged its militaries for social programs, can't do anything about and which its signaled it will tolerate by not admitting Ukraine into NATO.]
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