Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk urged Russia on Tuesday not to use natural gas as a "weapon" against his country, and accused Moscow of seizing tens of billions of dollars' worth of its assets and energy resources in Crimea.
Russian energy giant Gazprom earlier demanded a $1.66 billion prepayment from Kiev for June gas deliveries, saying Ukraine had only half its requirements in storage to ensure a trouble-free winter.
"We are ready for a market-based approach and Russia is to stop using natural gas as another, or a new type of Russian weapon," Yatsenyuk told a news conference with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels.
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