Just a few days after top governmental officials in the Ukraine moved to separate Ukrtransgaz from Naftogaz, the government - owned gas company, the same officials reversed their decision in a sudden about-face.

During the past few days the government had come under increasing pressure from its own citizens pointing out how corrupt government officials had previously raided national gas companies to line their own pockets. Moreover, the move would have violated the terms of Kiev’s $300 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The Ukraine is floundering economically with one of the world's highest inflation rates, a weak currency and stifling growth. Meanwhile the war in the eastern part of the country around Donetsk continues to drone on.