Russia continues to dominate natural gas supply in Ukraine and across the central and eastern Europe markets that were closed to outsiders in the days of the communist bloc.
But its hold is loosening, partly because Ukraine – a big market and transit zone for Russian fuel – looks westward towards closer economic and energy ties with the EU.
Kiev is taking strides to break its dependence on increasingly expensive – discriminatively pricey, say local officials – fuel imports from Gazprom, the Russian gas company.
In doing so, it could change the broader energy equation in the region.
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