Russia has blocked the delivery of coal and gas to Ukraine

Russian Customs will not allow the transit of coal to Ukraine, for consumers of energy or for cooking. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has suggested previously that the cancelling of deliveries of coal may be one of the responses against Ukraine after the blackout in the Crimea which since in the wee hours of Sunday, the peninsula has been completely without power due to the sabotage of the power lines in the south of Ukraine.

Gas supply from Russia also cuts off because Ukraine already get all prepaid product.

Changing priorities

Donetsk People's Republic also completely stopped deliveries of coal to the territory under the control of Kiev. This means coordination between Moscow and the Donetsk to punish Kiev. It also means a change in priorities in decision-making. If previously economic interests were spoken about, it is clear now that these began to dominate the political goals. Earlier, Russia banned the flights of Ukrainian airlines over its territory in response to a Kiev imposed ban on access to Ukrainian territory by Russian aircraft. Therefore, in the future, similar measures can be applied in various areas.

The strategy of exhaustion

Together with the requirement that Ukraine repays its debt, Russia will continue with economic pressure on Kiev. On January 1st, 2016 a food embargo will be introduced for Ukrainian goods. This is due to Ukraine's signing of a trade agreement with the EU, which violates the Russian interests. Moscow makes it clear that Kiev is not going to make any concessions. In the context of the return of the Crimea to Russia, and the conflict in the south-east of Ukraine, these measures will undermine the Ukrainian economy.

Problems in Kiev

At the same time in Ukraine, the socio-political situation is deteriorating. The radicalization of some political parties and movements has drawn criticism from the European Union, and those countries which previously supported the Euromaidan. Although loans from the IMF as well as assistance programs from several countries have been made, these measures do not help the recovery of the Ukrainian economy.