About 80 percent of Russian gas to Europe is shipped via Ukraine. Other smaller pipelines run through Belarus and Turkey.
Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom has stopped all gas shipments through the country as of 7:44 a.m. (0544 GMT), said Valentyn Zemlyansky, the spokesman for Ukraine's Naftogaz.
"It was the Russian side's decision to stop all gas deliveries to Europe" through Ukraine, Naftogaz head Oleh Dubina told reporters. "I think it is inappropriate."
Russia confirmed the cutoff, but said it was Ukraine's fault because it had shut down the last pipeline carrying gas from Russia. Gazprom also says it is reducing to compensate for the gas it accuses Ukraine of diverting.
By early Wednesday, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey had all reported a halt in gas shipments, while France, Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary had reported substantial drops in supplies from Russia, AP reported.
Russia stopped all gas shipments to Ukraine on Jan. 1 after both countries failed to agree on prices and transit fees for next year.
Over the past week, Russia accused Ukraine of siphoning off tens of millions of cubic meters of gas meant for Europe from its transit pipelines. Ukraine admitted diverting some transit gas, saying it had the right to use the fuel to run its pumping system. Gazprom then started dramatically reducing supplies to European consumers this week.
The crisis erupted after Russia and Ukraine failed to agree on a gas price for 2009 and on payment of $600 million Gazprom says it is due from Naftogaz.
In 2008, Russia charged Ukraine about half what it charged its European customers for gas. The subsidy is a legacy of the Soviet era, when both countries were part of the U.S.S.R.
According to AFP news agency, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told Gazprom on Wednesday to cease all deliveries of natural gas into Ukraine.
In a meeting with Putin, Gazprom head Alexei Miller proposed "to end deliveries of gas at the Russian-Ukrainian border in conditions where Ukraine carries out the theft of Russian gas," Russian news agencies reported.
Putin replied: "I agree with your proposal, but this needs to be done as publicly as possible with the presence of international observers."
Miller told Putin at the meeting: "Last night and over the course of the morning Ukraine closed all gas transport corridors to Europe. Still, Gazprom continues supplying the gas transport system of Ukraine."
PA/PA
END
MNA
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