Russia Shuts Off Ukraine's Gas

Kiev Official Calls Putin a 'Dickhead'

Allie Jones, Gawker

The Russian energy company Gazprom cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine on Monday, claiming Ukraine owes the company $4.5 billion. Tensions between the two countries have reached a boiling point — over the weekend, Ukraine's foreign minister reportedly called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "dickhead."

Gazprom says cutting off the gas is more about getting paid and less about escalating political tensions between Moscow and Kiev. But Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk disagrees. He said in a statement Monday, "This is not about gas. This is a general plan for the destruction of Ukraine."

Pro-Russian rebels shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane on Saturday, killing 49 people, the deadliest single incident so far in Ukraine's battle against armed separatists. The attack led many Ukrainians to protest at the Russian embassy in Ukraine on Saturday, which is where Ukranian foreign minister Andriy Deshchytsia made his fateful comment.

(More here.)