Countries Report Gas Delivery Shortfalls

VIENNA, Austria – The impact of Russia’s dispute with Ukraine over natural gas spread West, with European countries reporting delivery shortfalls as high as 50 percent. Moscow, facing angry customers and sharp criticism, promised to increase gas shipments to the continent by Tuesday.

As Russia and Ukraine traded accusations on who was to blame for European clients left short by lowered pressure in the pipelines, officials throughout Europe warned a prolonged standoff could mean higher heating bills for consumers. At least one country, Serbia, introduced rationing, and some industries said they were switching to oil.
Moscow was in a particularly sensitive position. It took over the rotating presidency of the Group of Eight most wealthy nations on Sunday, with President
Vladimir Putin looking to convert his country’s energy wealth into added political influence.

“You have to be pretty naive not to recognize this … for what it is