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Ukrainian PM blames local officials for heating crisis

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015 file photo, a worker at a Ukrainian gas station Volovets in western Ukraine controls a valve. Angry Ukrainians took to the streets and blocked roads Tuesday Nov. 13, 2018, as hundreds of thousands remain without heating at a time when temperatures are plunging because of a dispute between the national gas company and regional utility providers. (AP Photo/Pavlo Palamarchuk, File)

MOSCOW — Ukraine’s prime minister has accused local officials of causing a crisis that has left hundreds of thousands without heating in freezing weather.

Several towns and neighbourhoods in two big cities were left without heating after national gas company Naftagaz raised prices that some struggling municipalities said they couldn’t afford to pay.

Naftagaz has said it will resume supply to utilities companies and power stations only after they clear their debts or pay for supplies in advance.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman on Wednesday laid the blame on local officials for failing to resolve the disputes and said the parliament should consider firing them.

The Associated Press