"Collapse? What collapse?

On December 18, President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych unexpectedly did not fly to Moscow on a visit, from which Kiev expected "breakthrough" agreements on gas

The fact that the visit was canceled at the last moment is evidenced by the fact that the extended pool of Ukrainian journalists who flew to Moscow found out about it already at Vnukovo. The Kremlin traditionally referred to some technical issues, but in Kyiv they explained: Vladimir Putin was not satisfied with Yanukovych's unwillingness to join the Customs Union and his refusal to lease the Ukrainian gas transmission network (GTS) to Russia. And if so, Ukraine will not see the coveted gas discount for the time being. This was indirectly confirmed by Putin himself, who announced at a press conference on December 20 about Kyiv's "strategic mistake".

On the sidelines of the Kremlin, they immediately started talking about the fact that the price of Yanukovych's intransigence would be the energy collapse that supposedly awaits Ukraine at the beginning of the year, when heat is indispensable. But Kyiv is not so easy to scare. In fact, there is no question of any collapse and cannot be. Yes, the current price of Russian gas - $480 per thousand cubic meters - is unaffordable for Ukraine, but the Russian proposal to reduce it in 2013 to $350 does not solve the problem. As for the lease of the Ukrainian GTS to the Russian Federation, today this issue is not critical for any of the parties: Russia, for example, is building Nord Stream and South Stream with might and main, and Ukraine is no less actively developing alternative gas supply routes. This does not mean that Russia is not looking for access to the internal gas market of Ukraine. Still looking for! But she is interested not so much in the Ukrainian pipe as in Ukrainian underground gas storages, where 32 billion cubic meters are "stored", which Moscow would like to take under control.

Ukraine will solve the problem of gas one way or another. Ukraine will respond to the high price of Russian blue fuel by reducing its consumption. And this is already happening - Kyiv receives part of the gas from Germany. And the project for the construction of a terminal for the processing of liquefied gas should not be forgotten, despite the recent scandal surrounding the Spanish signatory.

The reason for the failure of Yanukovych's visit lies in his categorical refusal to give Putin guarantees of entry into the Customs Union, the favorite image project of the Russian president. Moreover, the entry is complete and unconditional - the rest of the options do not suit Moscow.

So talk of an “energy collapse” is pure psychological attack in the style of classic Gazprom information wars.