Russian gas flow to Europe has stopped

BERLIN, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Europe's gas imports from Russia via Ukraine stopped completely on Wednesday, with several countries struggling to keep their citizens warm.

Ukraine said Gazprom halted all gas shipments to Europe via Ukraine Wednesday morning, while Gazprom blames Kiev for the supply cuts, saying Ukraine closed off a fourth pipeline to Europe after closing three others on Tuesday.

The spat couldn't have escalated at a worse time for Europe, as the continent is suffering from bitter cold. Temperatures in central Germany dropped to minus 14 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday night, and several other countries are experiencing similarly grim weather.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel telephoned Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Wednesday, urging them to quickly return to the negotiation table, Merkel's spokesman said in a statement.

Merkel also wants to send a neutral expert team to the Ukrainian-Russian border to evaluate what caused the supply stoppages. Both leaders said they would allow such a fact-finding mission.

Aside from Germany -- which imports roughly a third of its gas from Russia -- Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic and Serbia experienced supply stoppages.

In Serbia, tens of thousands of people on Wednesday woke up to cold apartments, German daily newspaper Bild said on its Web site.

Austria may be forced to draft emergency decrees when it comes to distributing the available gas, the Economy Ministry in Vienna said Wednesday.

German Economy Minister Michael Glos in a TV interview Wednesday morning urged Russia and Ukraine to quickly start fulfilling supply promises.

"I am not in a position to judge which side is right," he said. "But I have the feeling that it is the intention to take hostage as many other countries as possible in a dispute that concerns Ukraine and Russia."

The gas price row between Russia and Ukraine escalated on Jan. 1, when Russia stopped gas deliveries intended for Ukraine, after Ukraine refused to agree to a price hike.