Russia partially resumed the delivery of natural gas to Europe on Tuesday under the terms of an EU-brokered monitoring deal, but Ukraine refused to ship the fuel onwards, citing "technical" problems, according to DPA. The European Commission, which had brokered a compromise in the Russo-Ukrainian gas feud by deploying observers to monitor volumes shipped, said "little or no" Russian gas was flowing through Ukraine. Energy officials in Kiev initially confirmed an increase in Russian flow, begun early Tuesday, but by mid-afternoon declared Ukraine's gas pipelines still were effectively shut. "We did not accept it (the Russian gas,)" said Oleh Dubina, chairman of the Ukrainian natural gas monopoly Naftogaz, at a Kiev press conference. "Had we done so we would have left (four Ukrainian provinces) without gas of their own." The Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom on Tuesday morning increased pressure in its gas lines so that a volume of 76 million cubic meters of gas would move daily along a gas main crossing Ukraine for delivery to Moldova and other Balkan nations. The average volume of natural gas sent by Gazprom into Ukraine's pipelines during Winter months is some 310 million cubic meters. Low pressure in Ukraine's gas pipeline system caused by a two-week Russian embargo on exports to Ukraine made onward transfer of Russia's shipment "technically impossible ... unless four Ukrainian provinces were left without gas," Naftogaz officials said. European Union monitors on the ground at pumping stations in Ukraine and Russia both confirmed on Tuesday no effective increase in gas flow Westward. Details were hard to come by as both Kiev and the Kremlin failed to give the EU monitors full access to gas transportation infrastructure. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko less than three hours after Dubina's announcement held a press conference of his own, saying a contract regulating natural gas exports from Russia to Kiev was "absolutely necessary" for stable deliveries of Russian energy to Europe.
