Vladimir V. Putin, President of Russia. - File photo

At the end of last year, the Ukrainian government assured Russia that it would pay the $2 billion owed in gas by Dec. 31, 2008. Ukraine had to borrow from the country’s two biggest banks to avoid a Kremlin cut off of gas supplies. For two weeks, Russia shut down gas shipments, which made 15 European nations seek alternative methods of energy. Nearly one full year later, the Ukrainian government is seeking further assistance to pay off at least $1 billion owed to the Russian government. The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin suggested that the European Union loan Ukraine the money to help pay for its natural gas, which would avoid any disruptions, according to the Associated Press. He further elaborated that it is the EU’s duty to assist Ukraine, which is being helped by the International Monetary Fund. Ukraine is currently dealing with the worst of the global economic collapse with a 15 per cent contraction of the country’s economy. “The IMF says that Ukraine does not have problems with money. The Ukrainian prime minister says that President Yushchenko is blocking the transfer of money from the central bank.” Putin also stated, according to AFP, that the EU has not given Ukraine “a single cent.” After a discussion with Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Putin said, “Let the Europeans throw in a lousy billion. Why have they gotten so stingy down there? Let them get something out of their pockets. They have money, too.” Putin later telephoned Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to talk about the payment and the Swedish government issued a statement immediately afterward, “Prime Minister Reinfeldt stated that both the Swedish and the Czech presidency had followed this issue closely and that we will continue to do so.” Recently, Ukraine has been paying their bills on time, which perplexes many analysts, and the next due date will be on Saturday. Moscow News reports that Russia supplies one-fifth of Europe’s gas via Ukraine.