Prime Minister Asreniy Yatsenyuk said Russia’s two rate increases in three days were a form of “economic aggression” aimed at punishing Ukraine’s new leaders for overthrowing a Moscow-backed regime last month.
Russia’s natural gas giant Gazprom this week raised the price of Ukrainian gas by 81 percent — to $485.50 from $268.50 for 1,000 cubic metres — and now requires the ex-Soviet nation to pay the highest rate of any of its European clients.
The decision threatens to further fan a furious diplomatic row over Ukraine’s future between Moscow and the West.
Source: AFP