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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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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.

Enlarge Photo

Sergei Chuzavkov

A gas pressure gauge is seen at a snow-covered transit point on the main pipeline from Russia in the village of Boyarka, near Kiev, Ukraine, on Tuesday. A natural gas crisis loomed over Europe as a contract dispute between Russia and Ukraine shut off Russian gas supplies to six countries.

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."

Russia has a near pipeline monopoly to EU countries - even for non-Russian gas.