Calls by Ukraine’s new prime minister for Kyiv to deal directly with Gazprom over gas supplies are timely By Tom Nicholls Ukranian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko wants to see greater transparency in the gas-trading arrangements between Ukraine and Russia. At present, RosUkrEnergo, a murky entity owned on a parity basis by Gazprom and a group of Ukrainian businessmen, handles gas sales to Ukraine from Russia. Tymoshenko, who took office in December, wants to cut out RosUkrEnergo and deal directly with Gazprom – one of her chief electoral campaign pledges. During a trip to Brussels this month, she said it was time to rid Ukraine of “shadowy intermediaries”.