Ukraine currently pays $179 per 1,000 cubic meters for gas from Russia - more than three times what it paid in 2004 - and there have been reports that Moscow is considering a further doubling of the price. Russia's long-term strategy is to try to gain control of Ukraine's pipelines by transferring them to a joint venture, as it has done in Belarus, thus enabling it to control both supply and distribution of gas to Ukraine.
俄罗斯一直拿天然气作为外交政策的手段。乌克兰目前以每一千立方米179美元的价格购买俄罗斯的天然气，此价格是它2004年支付价格的三倍多，而且据说莫斯科正考虑把价格再提高一倍。俄罗斯长期的战略是企图是控制乌克兰的输气管，通过与它在白俄罗斯的同样的所作所为，把这些输气管变为合作项目，这样它就能同时控制输往乌克兰的天然气的供给和配送。