CNBC: Meet the man trying to get Ukraine through winter

Andriy Kobolev has one of the toughest jobs in the energy industry. He's only 36 years old, but already the CEO and chairman of Naftogaz Ukraine, a company he refers to as one of the biggest energy monopolies in Europe. It's certainly the biggest in Ukraine.

Experts say the outcome of negotiations between Naftogaz and Russia's state-controlled gas giant, Gazprom, could determine whether gas supplies to Ukraine and even Europe will be cut off this winter.

Kobolev is in talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk about his discussions with Gazprom, a company he said acts like the "Russian army." Russia regularly uses its abundant gas supplies for geopolitical leverage, and has done so more since it annexed Ukraine's Crimea region and began a campaign that most observers agree is designed to destabilize the country.
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