Â鶹ӰÊÓ

VIENNA, Austria - The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute hit Europe with the force of a winter storm Tuesday, cutting or limiting supplies to nearly a dozen countries. Tens of thousands of people were left without heat and governments scrambled to find alternate energy sources.

Shocked by how fast the shortages were spreading, the European Union demanded a quick end to the dispute -- a sharp turnaround from their earlier stance, when officials had downplayed the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv as primarily a business matter.

But by Tuesday evening, gauges on delivery pipelines to six countries -- including some depending totally on Russian gas -- were pointing toward zero and an increasing number of other nations reported significant reductions.

The Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz said Russia's gas giant Gazprom had sharply reduced its shipments to Europe through pipelines crossing Ukraine, triggering the cuts.

Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments, and even France, Germany, Austria and Poland reported substantial drops in supplies from Russia.

Some governments and utilities sought to reassure the public, saying well-stocked storage facilities would allow them to weather the storm.

Still, the growing intensity of the dispute evoked memories of the 2006 Gazprom-Ukraine gas war -- and starkly reflected once again the continent's energy dependence on Moscow.

Balkan nations appeared to be the worst hit.

In Bulgaria, which depends totally on Russian gas, the eastern cities of Varna and Dobrich were left without any gas due to the cutoff. Authorities said 12,000 Varna households were without central heating amid freezing temperatures.

"I have to use electric radiators at home, which is almost twice more expensive as the central heating," said Anton Stoyanov, a 45-year-old radio engineer in Varna. "But we have to keep the apartment warm since we have a baby in the family."

With pipeline operator Bulgargaz saying Bulgaria had gas reserves for only "a few days," President Georgi Parvanov urged authorities to restart a mothballed unit of its nuclear plant.

Turkey, facing a complete gas cutoff from Russia, weighed alternate supply options. Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said Iran had offered to increase supplies through an Iranian-Turkish pipeline, but said Turkey would not take up the offer just yet.

With icy temperatures hitting central Europe, Germany, Europe's largest economy, also braced for emergency mode after days of low-key comments designed to soothe edgy consumers. E.On Ruhrgas, the nation's biggest gas importer, announced it expected all Russian natural gas shipments sent via a pipeline through Ukraine to stop.

"Our options will be pushed to their limits, if this drastic supply shortage continues and temperatures stay at very low levels," warned company chairman Berhard Reutersberg.

Germany imports close to 40 per cent of its gas from Russia, with 80 per cent of that coming through Ukraine. But the Economic Ministry said Germany maintains 46 well-stocked underground storage facilities and experts estimated that reserves were enough to cover demand for 40 days.

With only 15 per cent of its gas coming from Russia, France was less affected. Despite seeing a 70 per cent drop in gas supplies Tuesday, it has storage facilities that can hold up to two months of reserves and access to extra gas from Algeria and Norway.

Britain was unaffected.

But with Europe receiving a quarter of its natural gas from Russia -- with close to 80 per cent going through pipelines crossing Ukraine -- other governments urged consumers to cut back on gas use.

Croatia was temporarily reducing supplies to industrial customers. Austria saw a 90 per cent drop in the usual amount of supplies and Czech officials spoke of significant overnight reductions. Poland's gas monopoly reported that deliveries of Russian natural gas via Ukraine had plummeted 85 per cent.

The European Union expressed outrage, saying spigots were turned off "without prior warning and in clear contradiction" to earlier assurances by top Russian and Ukrainian authorities.

"This situation is completely unacceptable," said European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger.

After days of blaming each other for the crisis, Russia and Ukraine agreed to hold new talks in Moscow on Thursday.

The two feuding neighbours are locked in a dispute over pricing and overdue payments. Russia cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 but had promised to keep gas moving to Europe.

Gazprom accuses Kyiv of stealing gas for other customers, but Ukraine says it is diverting only the Russian-supplied gas it needs to run its pipelines and pump gas west.

Russia has a near pipeline monopoly to EU countries -- even for non-Russian gas. Additionally, most European countries have failed to develop alternatives such as liquefied gas terminals that would allow them to circumvent Moscow's choke-hold by allowing sea shipments of the commodity.