The prices on the critical energy resource are growing with each quarter devastating national budget and endangering Ukrainian economy, according to Kyiv Weekly. Governmental negotiators, who promised to review the terms of gas supplies from Russia, achieved nothing over the last 6 months. Dozens of meeting in Moscow were spent in vain: Russian government does not want to listen to “brotherly” entreaties and demands real concessions instead, reads an article in Kyiv Weekly.

It is getting increasingly harder to resist the blackmailing. Cash-strapped Naftogaz Ukrainy, which has spent enormous sums on pumping expensive gas into its underground reserves and about to go belly up. The settlement of accounts for fuel supplied in October sucked a lot of blood out of the company. For starters, the government had to cough up UAH 4 bn (US $500 mn) into the authorized capital of the company, issuing domestic paper. Gazprombank loaned another US $550 mn at the very last moment, but in fact it received the money back right away.

Paying for the gas supplied in November and December will be even more complicated. Naftogaz will not be able to take money from a stash because it just does not have any. Analyst of the International Center for Policy Studies Ildar Gazizullin believed Naftogaz has no choice but to go with its hand cupped. However, as long as international banks treat Naftogaz skeptically, it can count only on lenders close to Gazprom and Russian government, Oles Hnativ says in the article titled What Kyiv is ready to give up for cheaper gas.

Видео дня