MOSCOW and BRUSSELS — As temperatures dropped below zero across much of Europe, the Russian prime minister instructed the head of Gazprom: ‘Cut it – starting today.’ The cut was ordered to punish neighbouring Ukraine, which Russia accuses of topping up its own gas supply by siphoning off energy meant for European consumers and sent through its pipelines. But Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-run gas company, said that it was European Union countries, including Britain, that would feel the effects of an increasingly bitter East-West energy row. ‘Gazprom has in fact cut volumes of transit gas to European customers. The Russian company has therefore placed under threat the delivery of gas to European countries,’ Naftogaz said in a statement. The EU meanwhile dispatched an emergency fact-finding mission to Ukraine after eight European countries reported a disruption of gas supplies following a smaller Russian cut last week. The taskforce of senior officials from the European Commission and the Czech Republic, which has just taken over the EU’s rotating presidency, will also hold crisis talks with Gazprom on Tuesday. EU foreign ministers, meeting in Prague on Thursday, will then assess levels of gas supply disruption and discuss possible […]