DIANA HRISTOVA Diana Hristova, Sofia resident, said, "We feel the gas crisis already because of the cold. It's very cold outside and inside too. The central heating has been diminished and we try to keep warm by electric heaters, but that's not the same. "

The impact of the crisis seems to be felt more sharply in Bulgaria. It's one of the few EU countries with no access to alternative pipeline routes, relying on almost solely on Russian gas.

The EU has given Ukraine its clearest warning yet that any failure to meet commitments to deliver Russian gas to the bloc would hurt its aspirations for closer EU ties.

Jose Manuel Barroso, European commission president, said, "So, if this transit does not go as normal, we will have a real problem and we will have to take some conclusions clarifying that we will no longer consider the supply of gas from Russia through Ukraine a credible supply and we will have to be clear about that."

The EU has stressed its neutrality throughout the gas row and has rejected overtures from both sides to mediate in what it insists is primarily a commercial dispute.

(CCTV January 9, 2009)