Thursday, April 02, 2015

Blog #7: Russia Agrees to Lower Ukraine's Gas Bill

The conflict in Ukraine between the Ukraine and the Russian Separatists has caused a financial strain on the country ever since it started back in November 2013. The struggle has depleted the Ukraine of many of their resources and even people however it appears that the Russians are also the ones that supplies Ukraine with precious material like gas. The Russian gas giant Gazprom supplies Ukraine and many of the countries surrounding it with oil however they are not letting it go for free. Gazprom has been accused in the past of overcharging areas for their gas and as of a few weeks ago they threatened to cut off the Ukraine over unpaid bills from the Ukraine gas company Naftogaz. This past week Gazprom and Naftogaz have come to an agreement and Gazprom has agreed to not cut off the Ukraine from their gas lines, or at least for the next three months. The Ukraine will not only have a solid gas supply for the next three months but they will also be paying for it at a reduced price, when they were paying 329 dollars per thousand cubic meters they will now only have to pay $248 per thousand cubic meters. This is great news for the Ukraine seeing as though gas is a very important resource especially when caught in a conflict like they currently are. Kiev still accuses Moscow of supporting the separatists although Russia still chooses to deny these claims.

William A. Bullard 
4/2/15
7:28 PM   
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32157899

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