KIEV, March 5 - Ukraine’s SBU security service on Thursday released an Energy Customs Service official who had been detained since Tuesday for allegedly authorizing a fraudulent transaction with natural gas.

KIEV, March 5 – Ukraine on Thursday paid in full for Russian natural gas supplies in February, meeting the deadline and averting a major escalation following a threat of supply cutoff from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

KIEV, March 5 - President Viktor Yushchenko on Wednesday invited Kazakhstan to join a May energy summit in Kiev aimed at enhancing the security of energy supplies to Europe, Yushchenko’s press service reported.

KIEV, March 5 – Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Wednesday the government will press ahead with removing two controversial traders supplying gas to Ukraine and arranging direct supplies of gas from Gazprom.

KIEV, March 5 - Hours after Naftogaz officially warned Gazprom that Ukraine had begun reducing the transit of Russian gas to markets in the EU by about 16%, Russian gas giant Gazprom on Wednesday resumed natural gas supplies to Ukraine in full.

KIEV, March 5 ??“ Lakshmi Mittal, the CEO and co-owner of Arcelor Mittal, the world??™s largest producer of steel, met Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych on Monday seeking support for the company??™s future investments in Ukraine.

KIEV, March 5 ??“ Russia was forced to reduce shipments of natural gas to Europe via Ukraine by 10% on the year in January through February as demand had dropped due to an unusually warm weather.

BRUSSELS, March 2 ??“ The Ukrainian and European power grids can be hooked up in three years, chairman of the Ukraine's National Commission for Regulation of Electric Energy Serhiy Tytenko said.

KIEV, March 3 ??“ Ukraine??™s consumer prices, led by rocketing prices of sugar, increased 1.8% on the month in February, pushing the January-February inflation to the highest level over the past four years, figures suggest.

KIEV, March 4 ??“ Rising prices of crude oil and natural gas on world markets have forced Ukraine to reconsider its energy policy in favor of boosting domestic extraction, President Viktor Yushchenko said Saturday.