Oleh Dubyna, the head of Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz, points to a map as he speaks during a... 
(AP)
The cutoff has forced thousands of businesses in Europe to shut down or cut production.
Serbia reported Wednesday that its power grid was getting overloaded as thousands switched to electric heat and urged residents to conserve energy.
Gazprom chief Alexei Miller reported that the dispute has cost the company $1.1 billion in lost income from the collapse of deliveries to Europe, which prompted the Russian president to say Gazprom should sue Ukraine.
Russia and Gazprom "cannot lose so much money in the current conditions," Medvedev told Miller in televised comments, referring to the global financial crisis.
Russia and Ukraine are deeply at odds over what Ukraine will pay for Russian gas in 2009. Ukraine last year paid $179.50 per 1,000 cubic meters; Russia now wants Ukraine to pay European market price for gas, about $450.
The crisis raises high risks for both Russia and Ukraine, ex-Soviet republics with deep historical ties but an increasingly troubled relationship.
European countries spooked by Russia's increasing assertiveness could redouble efforts to wean themselves from Russian gas.
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the EU presidency, proposed Wednesday that EU give its "highest priority" to a pipeline that would bypass Russia and deliver Caspian Sea gas via Turkey.
Russia, meanwhile, has used the gas dispute to push for new pipelines to Europe that would bypass Ukraine.
Underlying the energy dispute is a struggle between Russia and the West over the future of Ukraine, whose leaders have angered Russia by pressing for integration with NATO, supporting Georgia in its August war with Russia and threatening to evict a Russian naval base within a decade.
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Associated Press Writers Maria Danilova in Kiev, Ukraine, Constant Brand in Strasbourg, France, Monika Scislowska in Wisla, Poland, and Steve Gutterman and Mansur Mirovalev in Moscow contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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