Gazprom issued a thinly veiled warning on Friday that it could stop shipping gas to Ukraine over unpaid bills, increasing pressure on the new government in Kiev and its supporters in Europe, which gets half its Russian gas through Ukraine.
Gazprom halted gas supplies to Ukraine over unpaid bills at the beginning of 2009, which led to reductions in supplies of Russian gas to Europe during a cold winter.
Ukraine's desperate financial position has deteriorated further in the two weeks since pro-Western protestors in Kiev brought down Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovich, which prompted Russian forces to seize control of Ukraine's Crimea peninsular in response. For more details, watch Lea Fayad's full report in the video above