Ukraine Gas Security: Natural gas issue hard to resolve amid tensions with Russia

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03:16

The latest tensions are also expected to further strain natural gas supplies in Ukraine. The country has had a dispute in the sector with Russia for years. Under a financial agreement with the IMF signed in October, Kiev was forced to raise domestic natural gas prices by almost 24 percent. It was a huge blow to household budgets, and resulted in nationwide protests. Our Aljosa Milenkovic reports from Kiev.

Frigid temperature griped Ukraine's capital of Kiev.

Though the true winter has yet to arrive, heating is basic necessity for those here.

But not everybody's homes are warm since the temperatures plummeted.

Citizens of the town of Smila went to the streets to protest cold radiators and lack of hot water and the natural gas.

These pictures are from the town of Krivoy Rog where the situation was very similar.

ALJOSA MILENKOVIC KIEV "Not just Smila, but many towns across the country are suffering due to increased natural gas prices. Kiev citizens are no different and they are very vocal about the new burden that has been put on their shoulders."

Main reason for the lack of heating in those towns in Ukraine are unpaid utility bills.

After the latest significant increase in natural gas price, paying these bills has become unbearable for many citizens here.

NATALIYA MARGULINA KIEV RESIDENT "We can't have normal diet, we can't have normal clothes, we can't give a decent education to our children, because we just don't have enough money for all of that."

SERGEY CITIZEN OF KIEV "Entire country will leave for Poland to work there. And just old people will stay here in Ukraine, paying this crazy bills with their pensions. Got your pension - give it all to cover your utility bills. With this gas prices you can go crazy."

Authorities in Kiev are pointing fingers at Moscow as the main culprit for the natural gas troubles, citing high gas prices and Moscow's desire to bypass Ukraine with its new gas pipelines.

The presidents of Russia and Turkey met earlier, praising new Turkish stream gas pipeline which entered a final construction phase.

It is connecting Russia and Turkey directly and it'll take around 13 billion cubic meters of gas from the Ukraine pipelines.

A significant blow to the country's budget.

In the North it is Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline which is to connect directly Russia and Germany and also bypass Ukraine.

OLEKSIY GONCHARENKO MP FOR PETRO POROSHENKO BLOC "We have some guarantees from the Germany that status of Ukraine as transit country will remain some volume of gas transit will remain in Ukraine. But certainly it will be much less and certainly it would mean that we'll loose big money for Ukraine budget."

Faced with serious financial problems Ukraine is trying to force Russia to keep gas transit routes over its territory, but after the latest escalation of tensions at the Sea of Azov, this objective may not so easily be accomplished. Aljosa Milenkovic, CGTN, Kiev.