Bloomberg: Ukraine’s Unpaid Gas Bills Dwarf U.S. Aid Offer
Ukraine’s best hope for keeping furnaces and factories running through next winter is to store as much natural gas as it can after a U.S. aid pledge fell far short of the nation’s needs.
Energy supplies have given Russian leader Vladimir Putin powerful economic leverage in his battle with Ukraine. Ukraine gets half its gas from Russia, and it’s the transit route for 50 to 60 percent of the gas Russia sells to other European nations.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Ukrainian leaders this week that the U.S. would provide help so that, “Russia can no longer use energy as a weapon.” Biden announced medium- to long-term initiatives to support Ukraine’s energy sector and announced $50 million in aid, an unspecified part of which would go to develop the country’s gas reserves, explore alternative energy and improve efficiency.