Gazprom to reduce Ukraine’s gas

Gazprom, Russia’s gas monopoly, says it will cut supplies to Ukraine by 25% on Monday after talks between the two sides ended in failure.

The state-run Russian company said its efforts to get Ukraine to pay its debts had “reached a dead end”.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Viktor Yushchenko reached an outline deal, but the details could not be agreed.

Western commentators accuse Moscow of using Gazprom as a political tool.