Ukraine seeking breakthrough for deal to get Russian gas for winter

The European Union's energy chief is hoping talks between Ukraine and Russia will yield the breakthrough needed to guarantee Russian gas will continue to flow to Ukraine and, by extension, parts of the EU this winter.

After inconclusive talks last week, Wednesday's negotiations between the energy chiefs of the two nations were seen as a last-ditch attempt to stave off another crisis that could leave Ukraine without sufficient heating in the dead of winter.

EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said that the key outstanding issue was where to find the money for cash-strapped Ukraine to pay for deliveries.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, agreed on a broad outline of a deal, but financial issues have since bogged down talks.