Gas dispute deepens as Ukraine rejects Russian loan

Ukraine has dug in its heels in a bitter dispute with Russia over gas deliveries, with its president Viktor Yushchenko rejecting Vladimir Putin’s offer of a multi-billion loan to help the country adjust to a huge increase in Moscow prices.

With Russia threatening to stop supplying gas to Ukraine on New Year’s Day if no solution is found, Ukraine’s state-run gas company said the nation’s 48 million people would not freeze and its factories would not go dark if Moscow followed through on its threat.