2.3.1. Supply Interruptions in the 1990s

In February of 1993, Gazprom cut off the gas supply to Ukraine for the unpaid debt of over 238 million USD [34]. This interruption lasted for one day because Ukraine threatened to close the transit pipeline to Europe. This threat illustrated the mutual dependence between Russia and Ukraine, where Ukraine depended on imports of Russian gas and held negotiating power as a transit country. This interruption was one of several that happened for the reason of unpaid debts by the newly established states after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Perhaps the newly established independent states were still learning how to deal with the disputes in the 1990s, as during 1998–1999, there was a continuous diversion of gas in transit to Europe by Ukraine. In November of 1999, Russia interrupted oil and electricity sales to Ukraine in response to a theft of nearly 4 bcm of gas in that month [35].
