Russia cuts Ukraine’s natural gas supply

Russia cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine Monday after a payment deadline passed, and the two countries failed to reach a deal on prices.

While the move doesn’t immediately affect Europe’s gas flow, it might disrupt the region’s long-term supply, The Associated Press reports.

{mosads}Russia actions came after last week’s European Union-brokered talks yielded no agreement.

Sergei Kupriyanov, a spokesman from Russia’s state-controlled gas company Gazprom, said, since Ukraine made no payments for the gas by Monday, the company would from now on demand that Ukraine pay in advance for future deliveries.

Michael Bradshaw, a professor of global energy at England’s Warwick School of Business, warned of implications if the stalemate between Russian and Ukraine continues.

“If this drags on for longer, it could have a significant effect on gas supplies and prices this winter. The market will be jittery,” Bradshaw said.

Ukraine was prepared to compromise and pay $1 billion now, and more later, but Russia declined the offer, the European Commission said in a statement.

The gas dispute comes amid the larger crisis in relations between the two countries spurred by Russia’s annexation of Crimea earlier this year.