What Is The Price Of Gas In The Ukraine?

It may have just gone back down. From the Kiev Ukraine News Blog: Ukraine May Host US Radars

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russian defense experts warned this week that Ukraine could retaliate against a major price hike on their Russian gas imports by letting the United States use its early warning radar bases for ballistic missile defense.

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Russia is raising the price of its natural gas exports to Ukraine from the current level of $50 per 1,000 cubic meters to the price it charges European Union nations, $160 per 1,000 cubic meters.

RIA Novosti said Yushchenko could also retaliate against the gas price hike by refusing to sign a recently negotiated agreement with Russia to extend the operation of its 15P118M missile launchers for Russia`s old but still formidable RS-20 heavy ballistic missiles, known in the West as the SS-18 Satan. Under the agreement, Ukraine agreed to assist Russia in maintaining the systems that have been on combat duty for the past 15 years, for another 10-15 years.

Without that agreement, Russia will have to decommission its existing SS-18s and replace them with new but much more expensive Topol-M ICBMs at an estimated cost of $3 billion-$4 billion, RIA Novosti said.