Crimea cut off from gas, leader says

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine, April 22 (UPI) -- A pro-Russian leader in the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine said the region was receiving less than its fair share of natural gas.

De facto Prime Minister of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said about 30 percent of the area residents were getting supplied with natural gas.

"And this is despite the fact that gas is produced on the peninsula on a scale sufficient to supply the whole population of the peninsula," he said Monday.

Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula after political upheaval in Kiev moved the former Soviet republic closer to the European Union. Last month, Russian energy company Gazprom said it wanted to tap into the more than 50 billion cubic feet of gas available in Crimea.

Gazprom says it's owed billions of dollars from Kiev for unsettled natural gas bills. With Ukraine hosting the bulk of the Russian gas bound for Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the region's energy security is at risk because of Kiev's debt obligations.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived Monday in Ukraine in an effort to resolve an impasse that's reignited Cold War feuds. He said a U.S. support package for Ukraine may help prop up its beleaguered energy sector.

[RIA Novosti] [Washington Post]