INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The European Union agreed to reduce gas consumption to break its dependence on Russia on Tuesday, as missile strikes on Ukraine's Black Sea
coast cast doubt on a grain export deal.The effort to help Germany wean itself off Russian gas for the winter came as Turkey announced a
step to cut ties to Moscow.The EU gas use cut, approved by energy ministers in Brussels, was hailed as an effective response to Russia's
manipulation of its energy wealth as an economic weapon.The plan nominally commits EU countries to reduce their gas use by 15% during the
winter, although exceptions were carved out for some countries and Hungary rejected the deal as "useless.""We have made a huge step towards
securing gas supplies for our citizens and economies for the upcoming winter," said Czech industry minister Jozef Sikela, whose country
holds the rotating EU presidency."I know the decision was not easy, but I think at the end, everybody understands that this sacrifice is
necessary," he added.Hungary was the only country to oppose the plan, which passed on a majority vote, further isolating Budapest as the
only member state reluctant to go further against Russia."This is an unjustifiable, useless, unenforceable and harmful proposal that
completely ignores national interests," said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.The deal "serves purely communication purposes, and
hugely dependent on Russian gas
Russian gas, has made a strategic mistake but our government is working..
were given for island states like Ireland, Cyprus and Malta and to Spain or Portugal, which have limited links to the interconnected gas
the decision would lie with member states, a statement said.The EU deal landed a day after Gazprom said it is cutting daily gas deliveries
intended for Europe to about 20% of capacity from Wednesday.Gazprom claimed technical reasons for choking off supply, but EU Energy
Commissioner Kadri Simson dismissed this claim."This is a politically motivated step and we have to be ready for that and exactly for that
reason the pre-emptive reduction of our gas demand is a wise strategy," she said.The extent of Russia's split with the West over Ukraine was
also underlined by Moscow's announcement that it would quit the International Space Station after 2024.Until now space exploration was one
of the few areas where cooperation between Russia, the United States and its allies had not been wrecked by tensions over Ukraine and
fighting continued in Ukraine
Kyiv said Russian forces launched multiple missile strikes at targets on the Black Sea coast near the southern port city of Odesa and in
Ukraine, that have been disrupted by Moscow's invasion.Rescuers were working on the ground near Odesa where "residential buildings" near the
coast were hit in the strikes, Ukraine's southern military command said on Facebook.In the east, Kramatorsk's mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko
said he was worried about how tens of thousands of mostly elderly residents would cope in the coming months without any gas to keep them
warm."This winter will be very difficult," he said.He said that Ukrainian forces would have to push the Russians back at least 20 kilometers
(12 miles) to be able to make repairs to broken gas pipes.He called for more long-range weapons from Western allies to help repel the enemy.
