Ukraine and Russia on Friday reached a preliminary deal on natural-gas supplies to the conflict-torn country until the end of March that, if implemented, will avoid potential cutoffs and shortages for Ukraine and the rest of Europe this winter. The agreement, which still needs to be approved by the government in Kiev, brings down the cost of Russian gas for Ukraine to the same price that is paid by neighboring European Union countries until March. In return, Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn promised to ensure Russia can ship gas to the EU without interruptions and to pump 2 billion cubic meters of gas into underground storage facilities over the next month. “This is an important factor for a secure time for the winter period,” said Alexander Novak, Russia’s energy minister. The European Commission, the EU’s executive, has been working for much of the year to get the two sides […]