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Gazprom, the Russian natural gas monopoly, on Monday reduced deliveries of gas for transit through Ukraine to Western European customers, with executives saying the company was seeking to make up for gas stolen by Ukraine.
Gazprom, which had already cut off all fuel supplies to Ukraine in a dispute over pricing, said that any countries that suffer shortages as a result should blame Ukraine for not paying a fair price for Russia’s natural gas.
The Russian announcement was, in essence, a partial Russian fuel embargo of Europe, something policymakers in Western capitals have feared for some time as relations with Moscow degenerated last summer after the war in Georgia.
