Gas Supplies Drop, EU Plays Down Dispute

By Maria Danilova

Kiev, Ukraine -- Russia's cutoff of natural gas to Ukraine was forcing several European countries to dip into reserves Monday, with Moscow tightening the tap even further.

European Union officials offered assurances Monday that consumers faced no danger for now, even as Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria said that supplies from pipelines through Ukraine remained down, in Romania's case by 30%.

Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom stopped supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 in a dispute over price and overdue bills and said it would keep pumping gas through Ukraine for European customers. ...