Large parts of Europe woke up today to find that Russian gas supplies had been cut off on the coldest day of the year as a dispute between Moscow and Ukraine over payment rates took a dramatic turn for the worse.

Six countries reported a complete shut-off and Bulgaria – where midwinter temperatures are reaching minus 15C – said that it had enough gas "only for a few days". "We are in a crisis situation," the Bulgarian economy ministry said in a statement.

Also cut off were Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Turkey and Croatia, which said that it was temporarily reducing supplies to industrial customers.

Ukraine and Russia each blamed the other for the shortages. Ukraine’s state gas company Naftogaz said the Russian gas giant Gazprom had sharply reduced its shipments to Europe through pipelines crossing Ukraine, triggering the cuts. “Our Russian partners are playing cat and mouse with us,” said Oleksandr Shlapak, economic adviser to Ukraine’s president.

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In response Gazprom said that Naftogaz had unilaterally closed three out of four transit gas pipelines this morning.

The situation prompted a sharp complaint from the European Union and the Czech presidency. The Czech Republic, which relies on Russian oil for 80 per cent of its needs, is among those Central and Eastern European countries most vulnerable to the disruption of supplies.

"Without prior warning and in clear contradiction with the reassurances given by the highest Russian and Ukrainian authorities to the European Union, gas supplies to some EU member states have been substantially cut," the EU said in a statement.

"This is completely unacceptable. The Czech EU presidency and the European Commission demand that gas supplies be immediately restored to the EU and that the two parties [Russia and Ukraine] resume at once negotiations with a view to a definitive settlement of their bilateral commercial dispute."

Kiev said that Gazprom, the Russian state gas company, had cut the flow following Vladimir Putin’s threat yesterday to punish Ukraine for allegedly stealing fuel it is supposed to allow to transit through its pipelines en route to Europe.

The Bulgarian Government called a crisis meeting at 7am this morning and appealed to all consumers to limit their usage as the gas stopped flowing at around 3.30am on the coldest night of the year, as it did elsewhere in the Balkans.

Austria said that supplies were down to just 10 per cent of the expected amount while Hungary said that the flow was below 20 per cent of usual rates and the Czech Republic reported shortfalls.

Most of the countries which rely on gas from Russia delivered through Ukrainian pipelines have built up substantial reserves for the winter following a similar dispute over payments in 2006.

But that was over in a matter of days whereas the present row seems far from being resolved. It began on New Year’s Day when Gazprom began subtracting Kiev’s share of the gas it pumps through Ukraine to Europe.

Ukraine’s gas company Naftogaz, which denies siphoning off any gas illegally, is now warning that supplies to Germany – which relies on Russian gas for 42 per cent of its needs – will also suffer as the impact of the dispute spreads.

A European Union delegation is in Kiev to discuss the crisis with senior Ukrainian officials and hopes to meet Gazprom officials later today. Mirek Topolanek, the Czech Prime Minister, said today that the EU could call the Russians and Ukrainians to an emergency summit to sort out the disupte.

Valentin Zemlyansky, a spokesman for Naftogaz, warned ahead of the meetings that Europe would face problems due to the Russian cuts.

“They have reduced deliveries to 92 million cubic metres per 24 hours compared to the promised 221 million cubic metres, without explanation. We do not understand how we will deliver gas to Europe,” Mr Zemlyansky said.

“This means that in a few hours problems with supplies to Europe will begin,” he added.

Gazprom has said that the company would do its best to make up for the shortfalls by sending more gas to Europe through Belarus, Poland and Turkey.

The EU depends on Russia for around a quarter of its total gas supplies, 80 per cent of which are pumped through Ukraine.

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