Ukrainian bishops welcome gas deal, denounce Russian gas dislocation

Published: 2006-01-05

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Ukrainian church leaders welcomed a deal to resume Russian gas supplies to their country, but one bishop said the gas cutoff was an attempt to punish Ukraine. "Everyone is convinced this was simply an act of revenge, an attempt to punish Ukrainians for asserting their freedom," said Bishop Markiyan Trofym'yak of Lutsk, vice president of Ukraine's Latin-rite bishops' conference. "But it's also a good lesson for us, that we must ensure our security in energy too, and not be too dependent. We don't need Russian gas, and we (are) ready to freeze to death rather than surrender any part of our sovereignty." The bishop spoke in a telephone interview Jan. 4, the same day Ukrainian and Russian negotiators announced they had agreed to terms for restoring gas supplies, cut Jan. 1 following Russian demands for a fourfold price hike. Bishop Trofym'yak said there had been "no sense of fear, hardship or panic" in Ukraine, whose residents had vowed to "suffer but cope."

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