In October 2002, President Leonid Kuchma visited Warsaw where North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Javier Solana told him, “Sometimes Ukraine seems to be playing with, not by, the rules” (https://www.day.kiev.ua/en/article/day-after-day/play-not-rules). A most recent case in point is the April 7 “pardon” of former... MORE

Poland does not need another pipeline for Russian gas. The government has already signed long-term agreements with Russia in 2010, valid until 2022 for gas supply to Poland itself, and until 2019 for gas transit through the Yamal-Europe One pipeline via Poland to Germany (with... MORE

On April 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller proposed building a new pipeline for Russian gas through Poland to other European Union countries in Central Europe, bypassing Ukraine (see EDM, April 5). Moscow publicized the proposal—and a corresponding offer to Poland—without... MORE

On April 3, in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller announced a colossal series of gas projects. These involve an expansion of existing big projects or a reactivation of earlier, unimplemented proposals. Ukraine’s start of gas imports from Europe, reducing dependence on... MORE

Both the European Union and Ukraine will lose if an association agreement is not signed this year, but European politicians would rather have Ukraine bear the responsibility for such a failure, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on his recent visit to Hungary (kmu.gov.ua, March... MORE

According to Naftohaz Ukrainy officials, all the ongoing natural gas purchases from German RWE (see accompanying article) are carried out under a framework agreement signed in May 2012. This envisages deliveries of 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2013, with the subsequent possibility of expansion... MORE

Denting Russian Gazprom’s monopoly, Ukraine is procuring small but growing volumes of natural gas from Europe. The German Rheinisch-Westfaelisches Elektrizitaetswerk (RWE) is providing the volumes through its subsidiary, RWE Supply & Trading.  Ukraine’s neighbors Hungary and Poland are providing the transit services. The three countries... MORE

For 20 out of the 22 years of Ukraine’s independence (with the exception of the period 2009–2010), the country’s domestic energy market has been dominated by opaque gas intermediaries. Gazprom’s Itera and Yulia Tymoshenko’s United Energy Systems of Ukraine operated during the first decade of... MORE

On February 12, Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych paid a three-day visit to gas-rich Turkmenistan to sign a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation and reiterate Kyiv’s interest in resuming direct imports of the Central Asian country’s natural gas, which were suspended in 2006 (Interfax-Ukraine, February... MORE

Russia and Ukraine are close to reaching an agreement on the clearance of Black Sea Fleet (BSF) vessel movements outside their bases, the Ukrainian website zn.ua reported on March 2, citing sources familiar with the talks. The sources said that Russia no longer objects to... MORE