Putin’s ‘severe’ warning to Ukraine if gas supply disrupted

RUSSIAN prime minister Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine yesterday of “severe consequences” if it disrupted gas supplies to Europe, as another New Year’s Eve energy dispute went down to the wire.

Any move by Ukraine to disrupt supply of Russian gas to Europe would violate its contractual obligation and would constitute “a completely different matter with very severe consequences for the transit country,” said Putin.

Speaking in a televised meeting with president Dmitry Medvedev, Putin warned any tampering by Ukraine with gas meant for clients further downstream would harm its relations with Russia and the EU countries that buy Russian gas.