Living In Ukraine Will Teach You Surviving Skills

The Ukrainian government seems to have stopped hoping for economic revival and now puts more trust in weather conditions and people’s endurance.

Derzhnaftohazprom (State Oil and Gas Industry) Chairman Mykhailo Kovalko reported that Ukraine intends to pay off its debt to Russian Gasprom in the middle of this year. The debt totals $945 million. The payoff became possible only because the temperatures are rising and Ukrainian needs are fully satisfied by domestic natural gas.

During the winter Ukraine signed a badly thought-out contract with Russia on gas supplies, the volume of which could not satisfy Ukraine’s needs. Ukraine took the rest of the gas from pipelines without permission, thus running the Ukrhazprom debt to Russia up to $483 million. But it is spring, getting warmer, and we have ceased taking natural gas without permission. Experts doubt that Ukraine will pay off its total debt in a single installment, because not many companies intend to pay Ukrhazprom for gas, since no contracts were signed. If the coming winter is as warm as this spring, Ukraine would be able to pay off the debt with Ukrainian gas. And it would not be a disaster, if it suddenly grows cold. Ukrainians are ready to stand any frost.

Photo by Valery Myloserdov, The Day:
Not even Gasprom frightens the tempered Ukrainian