Russia sparks threat of repeat gas crisis

Russia’s state-controlled gas giant Gazprom has raised the threat of another gas crisis with Ukraine, warning that the ex-Soviet nation was building up its winter gas supplies too slowly, possibly endangering smooth deliveries to Europe.

Gazprom said in a statement that a company meeting yesterday noted that “gas is being injected at too slow a rate” into underground storage facilities in Ukraine. The company added that it would push Ukraine’s Naftogas company to build up the necessary reserves.