Gazprom finds it hard to break with Ukraine

An international court ruling over gas supply contracts has done little to resolve differences between Gazprom and Naftogaz

Gazprom is desperate to eliminate the need to use Ukraine's transport network to send gas supply to Europe, but a lack of alternatives means it will probably have to swallow its pride and sign a new deal beyond 2020. Russia's gas export monopoly halted a planned resumption of gas supply to the Ukrainian domestic market in early March, forcing Kiev to take emergency measures to make up for the shortfall and warn that transit flows to Europe were also at risk. Gazprom had planned to restart supplies to its neighbour's domestic market for the first time since 2015, when Ukraine started buying gas from Europe to reduce its energy dependence on Russia. The move came after a Stockholm arbitration