Gazprom may cut off gas transit to Europe in case of unauthorized gas 'withdrawal' by Ukraine.

Gazprom may cut off gas transit to Europe in case of unauthorized gas 'withdrawal' by Ukraine.(Tass).

Gazprom sees some risks for gas transit through Ukraine to Europe, and in case of unsanctioned gas tapping by Ukraine it may cut off supplies to the EU, CEO of Gazprom Alexei Miller told reporters.


"Indeed there are risks for gas transit to Europe (via Ukraine). In the contract, which was signed in 2009, we clearly fixed all cases of force majeure. If Ukraine starts gas tapping, then we can either reduce supply by the volume of illegally taken gas or can carry out a disproportionate reduction. But we may stop deliveries all together even after a single unauthorized tapping of gas," Miller said.
Read the full story here.

Russia says U.S. refused guarantees for Ukraine's Financial liabilities.

Russia says U.S. refused guarantees for Ukraine's Financial liabilities.(Reuters).

Russia has received an official refusal from the U.S. government to provide guarantees for Ukraine's liabilities, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday, citing Russia's Finance Ministry.

Russia and Ukraine are at loggerheads over a $3 billion Ukrainian Eurobond held by Russia and maturing on Dec. 20.

Russia has offered to restructure the debt in equal installments over the next three years if the West provides guarantees. But Ukraine has included it among the sovereign and sovereign-guaranteed bonds to be restructured in a deal with a group of its largest creditors.

"This week we received an official refusal from the U.S. government to provide guarantees on Ukraine's liabilities. In this regard, there is nothing left but for us to file a legal case against Ukraine if the debtor does not fulfill its liabilities fully on Dec. 20," RIA news agency cited the Finance Ministry as saying in a statement. Hmmmm........Yup a country with nearly 19 Trillion $ debt isn't the greatest choice for 'Financial guarantor'. Read the full story here.

No More Money for 'Money pit' Ukraine Unless Kiev Gets Rid of Corruption - Biden.

No More Money for 'Money pit' Ukraine Unless Kiev Gets Rid of Corruption - Biden. (SP). 

The White House is worried about a high level of corruption in Ukraine and worse of all by the fact that it isn't decreasing.

The United States told the Ukrainian government to fight against corruption more actively by carrying out anti-corruption reforms. Victoria Nuland, the Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs at the US State Department, stressed that Ukraine must get rid of corruption, as it represents Viktor Yanukovych's "old system."

US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt also spoke against corruption: "There isn't a problem in Ukraine today that is a bigger threat to the long-term success of the country than legalized corruption."

Last year, Ukraine was ranked 142nd (tied with Uganda and the Comoros Islands) on the list of the most corrupt countries in the world, conducted by Transparency International (TI). Hmmm.....Days after the EU just gave them another 1 Billion Dollar for Gas. By the way their total gas debt is now at $29,2 US $. Read the full story here.

EU Taxpayers to Pay 1 Bln Euros for Ukraine’s Gas Bill 'defaulter' Out of Their Own Pockets

EU Taxpayers to Pay 1 Bln Euros for Ukraine’s Gas Bill 'defaulter' Out of Their Own Pockets. (SP).

To keep Ukrainians warm, EU citizens will have to shell out a total of one billion euros, Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) reported.

As Ukraine is broke and needs money to pay for gas for the upcoming winter, European taxpayers will have to cover the bill, the German newspaper predicted.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and European Commission Vice President on Energy Union Maros Sefcovic met in Vienna late last week. The sides agreed that Brussels will pay €500 million for Kiev's gas supply.

"Ukraine urgently needs to fill its gas storages to survive the winter," DWN said, adding that the €500 million only covered half of the bill and soon Brussels will need another half a million to pay Ukraine's gas bill.

The bill might increase if winter months turn out to be colder than the last year, DWN reported.

Kiev expects to receive a foreign loan for winter gas supplies by late October, which Novak had said would help finance 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Ukraine's underground storage facilities this and next month. Hmmm........$29,2 Billion in debt and counting.

Video - Attempt to tow Russia's broken down Armata T-14 tank on Red Square in Moscow.

Hmmmm......Russia’s Armata Tank to Have No Match Among Western competitors.......You can say that again 'Comrade'

Russia’s Armata Tank to Have No Match Among Western competitors.

Russia’s Armata Tank to Have No Match Among Western competitors. (Sputnik).

The T-14 Armata tank will be the main feature of the May Victory Day Parade on the Red Square in Moscow. The technical innovations of Armata platfrom make the Russian tank an absolute leader among its Western analogues, a US media agency claims.

Russia’s cutting-edge Armata tank which was previously unveiled during a Victory Day parade rehearsal in Moscow will surpass all Western versions, according to a US media agency.

Before the final rehearsal of the May 9 parade the T-14 tank was shown to the public with its turret masked with fabric. Monday was the first time the Armata was shown uncovered.

The tank is going to steal the show at the Victory Day parade on the Red Square, Moscow on May 9.

In addition, more than 16,500 servicemen and nearly 200 pieces of weaponry will be involved in the event.

The key feature of the new tank is its unmanned remotely-controlled turret, with three crew members seated in an armored capsule at the front of the tank's hull. The crew controls the tank’s gun remotely.

Such a construction increases the safety of the crew and its firing efficiency. The technical innovations used in designing the Armata make the Russian tank an absolute leader among its Western analogues, AP says.

Engineers designed the Armata platform also to be used for other combat vehicles, including an infantry combat vehicle and a self-propelled gun. The versatility of the platform will contribute to reducing production costs and to facilitating repair and maintenance works. Hmmm.....Who has the know how to work on these on the battlefield, or do they presume Armata can't breakdown? Read the full story here. More on new Russian 'armament' here. (Russian).

Armata tank pic.twitter.com/ensHfo0uZZ

— Jewish Russophile (@JewRussophile) May 4, 2015

"Yes we Can Steal Gas" - Europe be warned, Rada refused to criminalize the theft of gas.

"Yes we Can Steal Gas" - Europe be warned, Rada refused to criminalize the theft of gas. (RT).[GoogeTranslate].

According to RBC-Ukraine, the authors have proposed a bill to criminalize the theft of natural gas, electricity or heat through their unauthorized use without metering or as a result of intentional damage metering equipment. 

For such an offense was supposed to be fined up to $ 3.4 thousand. Hryvnia (about 10 thousand. Rubles). The maximum penalty provided for imprisonment for up to 5 years. However, the deputies did not support the introduction of the bill on the agenda. Hmmm....These guys have stolen 5 Billion $ worth of gas from Russia, you did not think they would stop...did you?

Gazprom says gas supplies to Poland ‘exact same’ ..Ukraine wouldn't 'siphon' gas , would they?

Gazprom says gas supplies to Poland ‘exact same’ ..Ukraine wouldn't 'siphon' gas , would they?(RT).

“There wasn’t and isn’t any cut in gas supplies to Poland. We keep on delivering the exact same volume of gas as we did last week – 23 million cubic meters per day,” Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov told RT Thursday.

State-run Polish oil and gas utility PGNiG claimed that as of September 10, Gazprom was only delivering 55 percent of its gas order, according to a statement published on September 11 on the company's website.

The company said it has decided to import gas from Germany and the Czech Republic to make up the shortfall. It has also halted 4 million cubic meters in reverse flows to Ukraine.

Poland confirmed it suspended the supply of gas to Ukraine on Wednesday. Polish authorities say they have notified the European Commission (EC) on the 45 percent supply cut.
"We have also been informed that the Polish authorities are now looking into the cause, whether it is of a commercial nature or of a technical nature," Commission spokeswoman Marlene Holzner said, as quoted by Reuters.

The alleged missing gas is delivered under the Yamal contract and is piped through Ukraine and Belarus. Poland claimed supplies were down 20 percent on Monday, and 24 percent on Tuesday.

PGNiG wrote that is hasn’t yet received an explanation from Gazprom as to why it hasn’t received its contracted gas supplies.

Gazprom said that under the Yamal contract with PGNiG it is not obliged to meet demand from customers that exceed contract volumes, RIA Novosti reported.

On Wednesday, Gazprom replied to Polish complaints, and said the missing gas was simply a pre-winter maintenance routine to fill up Russian storage sites.

According to Igor Prokopiv, CEO of Uktransgaz, Ukraine’s state-controlled gas transport company, Russia is intentionally reducing supplies to the EU to cut off reverse flows to Ukraine. Russia turned off gas supplies to Ukraine in June over pricing disputes and debt.

EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has warned that Ukraine may begin to siphon off Russian gas intended for Europe.

Ukraine’s natural gas consumption is 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year, and with only an estimated 15 bcm saved up for winter, it hopes to important 16 billion this year, with the biggest amount using reverse flow from Slovakia and Hungary.


Russia, Ukraine, and the European Commission will hold trilateral energy talks on September 20 in Berlin.

  Hmmm....Someone who has outstanding gas debts of 5 Billion Dollar wouldn't Siphon gas, would they? If so they're exactly doing what i warned about :)