page_title: 2005–2006 Russia–Ukraine gas dispute
section_title: Cut-off
hierarchical_section_title: 2005–2006 Russia–Ukraine gas dispute / Cut-off
caption_attribution_description: English: NOVO-OGARYOVO. Meeting on deliveries of Russian gas to Ukraine.Русский: NOVO-OGARYOVO. Meeting on deliveries of Russian gas to Ukraine.
context_page_description: The 2005–06 Russia–Ukraine gas dispute was between Ukrainian state-controlled oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy and Russian national gas supplier Gazprom. The disagreements concerned natural gas supplies, prices and debts. The conflict started in March 2005, ended in January 2006 and, in addition to the gas companies, involved politicians from both countries.
  The conflict began when Russia claimed that Ukraine was not paying for gas and was diverting gas bound from Russia to the European Union from pipelines that crossed the country. Ukrainian officials at first denied the last accusation, but later Naftogaz admitted it used some gas intended for other European countries for domestic needs. The dispute peaked on January 1, 2006 when Russia cut off supply. The cutoff affected gas supplies to European countries that depended on Russian natural gas. On January 4, 2006 a preliminary agreement between Ukraine and Russia was achieved, the supply was restored and the situation calmed.
context_section_description: On January 1, 2006 Gazprom started reducing pressure in the pipeline system ahead of the deadline of the Russian ultimatum set for 10:00 MSK. At the same time Russia accused Ukraine of stealing $25 million worth of gas. Ukraine denied the allegation. On January 24, Naftogaz admitted withholding some Russian gas intended for other European countries, but said it would still meet its contractual obligations. A spokesman for Naftogaz said the gas was needed to cope with especially cold weather.
  European gas imports were declining, whether from Ukrainian expropriation or Russian undersupply. Gazprom invited the Switzerland-based goods inspection and testing company SGS to monitor the amount of gas that is entering Ukraine's pipeline network.
  The EU's contract with Gazprom requires the supplier to deliver to the former USSR's border, i.e., Ukraine's western border. Therefore, if Ukraine interferes with delivery, the EU can sue Gazprom for contract violations. As soon as the supply began to fall in the EU, Gazprom was forced to return supplies to normal.
caption: Then President of Russia Vladimir Putin at a meeting on 29 December 2005 with Alexei Kudrin (Russian Finance Minister), Viktor Khristenko (Russian Energy Minister), Alexander Medvedev (Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom board), Ivan Plachkov (Ukrainian Energy Minister) and Alexey Ivchenko (CEO of Naftogaz), in which the dispute was discussed.
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