WSJ: Here's How to Use Energy to Undercut Putin

As Ukrainians struggle to preserve their independence and territory under Russian threat, they also are searching for reliable alternatives to Russian energy supplies. The decision to look across the Atlantic makes sense because U.S. liquefied natural gas could be part of a broader diversification strategy for Ukraine and its region.

But the success of that strategy will depend upon key domestic reforms in the U.S. and Ukraine, private financial commitments, and concerted energy diplomacy by Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic community.

For over a decade Moscow has used energy as leverage against its neighbors in political disputes. No country has been as severely affected as Ukraine. In 2006 and 2009 Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine in winter following a dispute over prices, debts and political issues, with ripple effects for gas supplies throughout Central and Western Europe.
MORE