Vladimir V. Putin
PER
Vladimir V. Putin Putin
President Vladimir V. Putin told Russia's natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, on Saturday to continue selling subsidized gas to Ukraine until the end of March if Ukraine agrees to pay market prices beginning in April. Mr. Putin's order, delivered on national television as Gazprom threatened to cut off gas exports for Ukraine beginning on Jan. 1, put Russia's president in the center of a dispute that has caused Europe to worry whether its gas supply will be disrupted in the January chill. Mr. Putin gave Ukraine until midnight Saturday to accept his terms. Mr. Putin's assertive entrance into the dispute affirmed who really controls Russia's sprawling energy sector.